Ralph Engelstad Arena facts for kids
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"The Ralph"
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 REA
Location in Grand Forks, North Dakota
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| Address | One Ralph Engelstad Arena Dr |
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| Location | Grand Forks, North Dakota |
| Coordinates | 47°55′40″N 97°04′17″W / 47.927641°N 97.071438°W |
| Owner | Engelstad Family Foundation |
| Operator | Arena Network |
| Capacity | Hockey: 11,643 Basketball: 12,119 Concert: 13,154 |
| Surface | 200' x 85' (hockey) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 5, 2001 |
| Construction cost | $104 million ($172 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Tenants | |
| North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey (2001-present) Women's (2002–2017) |
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The Ralph Engelstad Arena, often called "The Ralph", is a super cool indoor sports building. It's located right on the campus of the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This arena is the home ice for the UND men's ice hockey team, known as the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. A former student, Ralph Engelstad, had this amazing arena built. The arena also used to host the UND women's hockey team.
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About "The Ralph" Arena
The Ralph Engelstad Arena is a huge building that opened on October 5, 2001. It can seat 11,643 people for hockey games. It's the main place for the UND men's ice hockey team. Sometimes, it also hosts basketball games for UND's men's and women's teams.
More Than Just Sports
"The Ralph" isn't just for sports. Many other events happen here too. You can see big concerts and even a yearly circus! People sometimes call it the "Taj Mahal of hockey." This is because it's a very fancy building. It cost $104 million to build.
Special Features of the Arena
The arena uses materials you don't usually see in sports buildings. For example, the floors in the hallways are made of shiny granite. Every seat for spectators is made of nice Cherry wood and soft leather. There are escalators to help people move between floors. Bright, full-color LCD screens are all over the arena. Many people say "The Ralph" is one of the best sports places in the world. Even famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky called it "one of the most beautiful buildings" in North America.
The Arena Complex
The Ralph Engelstad Arena is part of a bigger complex. Next to the main arena, there's a second ice rink. This rink is Olympic-sized, which means it's bigger than a standard hockey rink. In 2004, another building was added. It's called The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, or just The Betty. This building is now home to UND's basketball and volleyball teams.
Awards and Upgrades
In 2015, the Ralph Engelstad Arena received a special award. It got a certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor. This means it was one of the top-rated places to visit in America. In 2019, the arena got a brand new, huge scoreboard. It cost $6 million and was shown off on June 26, 2019. It's considered one of the best scoreboards in the country. Many other cool updates were also made. This included a new LED ribbon display that wraps all around the arena.
During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the arena was considered by the NHL. They thought about using "The Ralph" to host playoff games. This was because North Dakota had a low population and the arena was so high quality.
Exciting Events at "The Ralph"
The very first hockey game at "The Ralph" was on October 5, 2001. The Fighting Sioux men's team played against their rivals, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This was for the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game. Minnesota won that game 7–5. The arena also hosted a big college hockey tournament. This was the West Regional in the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament. North Dakota's team got to play in their home building.
Other Ice Hockey Events
"The Ralph" has hosted many other important ice hockey events. It was home to the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Over 195,000 tickets were sold for this event! The arena also hosted the 2005 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. Professional hockey teams like the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets have played exhibition games here. In 2008, "The Ralph" hosted the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship. It has also had fun ice shows like Stars on Ice and Disney's High School Musical On Ice. In 2016, the arena hosted the 2016 IIHF World U18 Championships.
Non-Ice Events and Concerts
Many different kinds of events happen at "The Ralph" that don't involve ice. Lots of famous music artists have performed concerts here. These include Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Sugarland, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Incubus, Elton John, Eric Church, Little Big Town, and Florida Georgia Line. A famous tennis match also took place here. It was between Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
High School Hockey Tournaments
"The Ralph" shares the job of hosting the State Boys' and Girls' Hockey Tournament. This is for the North Dakota High School Activities Association. The other arena that helps host is Fargo's Scheels Arena. These tournaments usually happen on the last weekend in February. "The Ralph" typically hosts the tournament in even-numbered years. Scheels Arena hosts it in odd-numbered years.
