Met Center

The Met Center was an indoor arena that formerly stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The arena, which was completed in 1967 just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was best known as the home of the Minnesota North Stars of the NHL from 1967-1993. For its first 15 years, its official name was the Metropolitan Sports Center; the more familiar shorter name was adopted in 1982.

The Met's other tenants included the ABA's Minnesota Muskies, which played just one season before moving to Miami. They were replaced by the Minnesota Pipers, who also played only one season. The North American Soccer League Minnesota Kicks played two indoor seasons at the Met from 1979 to 1981. The Major Soccer League Minnesota Strikers played indoor soccer at the Met Center from 1984-1988. The Minnesota Boys' High School Hockey Tournament was also held there 1969-1975.

The Met Center was considered to be one of the finest arenas in the NHL for many years, both for its sight lines, and its ice surface. Among NHL players, the Met was known for fast ice, the best lighting, great locker rooms and training facilities. The Met never boasted fancy amenities, and by comparison to modern arenas it had cramped concourses, no luxury suites, and very few frills. As a sports facility, it could best be described as utilitarian, a theme which repeats itself in most Minnesota sports facilities built before 1988 (such as the Metrodome).

After the North Stars moved to Dallas, Texas in 1993 and became the Dallas Stars, the Met Center was demolished in 1994 in a series of three controlled implosions. The NHL returned to Minnesota in 2000 when the expansion Minnesota Wild began play at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

For several years after the arena was demolished, the property served as an overflow lot for the Mall of America. In 2004, an IKEA store opened on the west end of the property, and the new American Boulevard was rerouted through the east end of the property. The remainder of the site is planned long-term to become the site of Mall of America Phase II, of which the IKEA would be an anchor store.