Iowa Events Center facts for kids
The Iowa Events Center is a large group of buildings in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It's a place where many different public events happen, like concerts, sports games, and big meetings.
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History of the Iowa Events Center
The Iowa Events Center includes the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, Hy-Vee Hall, and Wells Fargo Arena. The new buildings were designed by a company called Populous. They also designed other famous places like Principal Park in Des Moines and the United Center in Chicago.
This project cost $217 million, making it the biggest public building project in Iowa history at the time. Money for the project came from Polk County, its cities, private gifts, and a special fund called Vision Iowa. This fund was signed into law by Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2000. Profits from the Prairie Meadows casino in nearby Altoona were expected to help pay off the debt.
Construction started in early 2002. There was a legal challenge that stopped building for several months. However, on November 14, 2002, the Iowa Supreme Court said that construction could continue.
In 2004, Polk County decided that a company called Global Spectrum would manage the Iowa Events Center. Global Spectrum is part of Comcast. Soon after, Global Spectrum announced that the new Iowa Stars hockey team would play at the center.
Exciting Venues at the Center
Wells Fargo Arena
Wells Fargo Arena is named after Wells Fargo Financial Services. It opened on July 12, 2005. This arena is the main place in Des Moines for sports and concerts.
Since 2006, the state high school wrestling and basketball tournaments have been held here. In 2007, it became home to the Iowa Energy (now called Iowa Wolves) basketball team. The Iowa Barnstormers arena football team also started playing here in 2008.
Wells Fargo Arena can hold many fans. It seats 15,181 people for hockey games and 16,110 for basketball games. For concerts, it can hold as many as 16,980 people.
Hy-Vee Hall
Hy-Vee Hall is named after the Hy-Vee supermarket chain. It is a large exhibition hall at the Iowa Events Center. It has 100,000 square feet (9,000 m²) of space. This space is used for trade shows, conventions, and other big events.
Hy-Vee Hall also has eight meeting rooms. These rooms offer a total of 15,000 square feet (1,400 m²) for smaller meetings. At the south end of Hy-Vee Hall, you can find the Iowa Hall of Pride. This hall celebrates the achievements of Iowa high school athletes and performers.
Hy-Vee Hall hosted its first event in October 2004, even before it was fully finished. It was officially opened on December 15, 2004. The Iowa Hall of Pride opened to the public a bit later, on February 23, 2005.
Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center
The Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center used to be an arena called Veterans Memorial Auditorium. It was once home to Drake University basketball and the Iowa Barnstormers arena football team.
This building was updated and reopened in January 2012. Now, it serves as a modern convention hall.
Images for kids
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Polk County Convention Complex
