SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
Issue link: https://sportsevents.epubxp.com/i/634578
January 2016 56 www.sportseventsmagazine.com M I N N E S O T A t Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a destination for sports year-round. The northern Minnesota city hosts a number of hockey, lacrosse and baseball tournaments and events, along with other sports such as basketball, foot- ball and swimming. Hotel rooms: 618 Hotel tax rate: 9.876 percent Major facilities: The IRA Civic Center houses two sheets of ice. The Grand Rapids Sports Complex houses softball felds and soccer felds. Hodgins-Berardo Arena hosts hockey. Portage Park offers facilities for soccer. Gunn Park houses several baseball and softball felds. Convention center: Sugar Lake Lodge hosts lacrosse tournaments. Contact: Visit Grand Rapids, www.visitgrandrapids.com. Mankato In Mankato, 75 miles from Minneapolis, there are extensive cycling trails, open country roads, downhill slopes and river rapids. The southern Minnesota city also offers a wide variety of playing felds, trails, courts, courses and rinks. Hotel rooms: 1,000 Hotel tax rate: 10.375 percent Major facilities: Verizon Wireless Center is a 19,940-square-foot full service arena with an Olympic sized rink. All Seasons Arena houses two full-sized hock- ey rinks. Caswell Park Softball consists of six lighted softball felds. Community Fields at Rosa Parks has six youth baseball felds. Miracle Field (Fallenstein Field) offers a barrier free handicapped and wheelchair accessible baseball/softball feld. Caswell Park has 10 soccer felds. Contact: Mankato Sports Commission, www.mankatosportscommission.com. Minneapolis Any day is a sports day in Minneapolis. The south-central Minnesota city is home to fve professional sports teams, a major university and a variety of state-of-the-art sports venues for practically any sport. Hotel rooms: 7,200 Hotel tax rate: 13.4 percent Major facilities: Opening in 2016, U.S. Bank Stadium is a 66,000-seat football stadium. Target Field is a baseball facility with a capacity of 40,000. Target Center is a 19,000-seat, multi-purpose venue. The University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium is a 52,000-seat football stadium. Convention center: The Minneapolis Convention Center offers 475,000 square feet of fexible space and can host a variety of sporting events. Contact: Meet Minneapolis CVA, www.Minneapolis.org. Minneapolis Northwest Fifteen minutes outside of downtown Minneapolis is Minneapolis Northwest, an area composed of three cities: Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove. The area is home to nine lakes, seven multi-purpose sports complexes, six ice arenas, two championship golf courses and a brand new basketball facility. Hotel rooms: 2,200 Hotel tax rate: varies from 10.025 percent to 13.025 percent Major facilities: Maple Grove Community Gyms consists of 12 basket- ball courts. Zane Sports Park offers four baseball felds, four softball felds and nine soccer felds. Noble Sports Park has one baseball feld, four softball felds and six soccer felds. Rush Creek Golf Club and Edinburgh USA are 18-hole championship golf courses. Contact: Minneapolis Northwest Tourism, www.minneapolisnorthwest.com. Rochester Rochester, in southeast Minnesota, is one of the largest cities in the state. One of its top venues, the Mayo Civic Center, is in the midst of an $84 million expansion that is set to open in 2017. Once completed, the center will offer over 200,000+ square feet of fexible space. Hotel rooms: 5,000+ Major facilities: UCR Regional Sports Center offers a 1,700-seat Fieldhouse with a 44,000-square-foot competition foor. The National Volleyball Center houses 11 courts and 30-foot ceilings. The Rochester Regional Stadium & Bubble has a 5,000-seat regulation-sized football feld and artifcial feld turf that allows for year-round use. The Rochester Rec Center contains an Olympic-sized pool and an NHL-sized hockey rink with seating for 4,000. McQuillan Softball Complex contains seven lighted softball felds. Graham Arena features four NHL- sized hockey rinks. Convention center: The Mayo Civic Center features the 5,000-seat Taylor Arena, which has a 25,000-square-foot competition foor, the 3,000-seat Audi- torium, which has an 11,800-square-foot competition foor, and a 25,200-square-foot Exhibit Hall. Contact: Rochester Amateur Sports Commission, www.rochsports.org. Triathlon in Minneapolis Northwest