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Alerus Center
Location	1200 South 42nd Street Grand Forks, ND 58201
Opened	February 10, 2001
Owner	City of Grand Forks, ND
Operator	Compass Management
Surface	Multi-surface
Construction cost	$80 million USD
Architect	Schoen & Associates Johnson Laffen Architects
Tenants
North Dakota Fighting Sioux football (2001-present)
Capacity
Concert: 21,000 Football: 13,500

The Alerus Center is an indoor arena located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It opened in 2001. It is the home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team. The arena also plays host to many large concerts, sporting events, and trade shows. It can seat as many as 22,500 people at one time. The facility includes an adjacent convention center which features twelve meeting rooms and a 28,000 square foot (2,600 m²) ballroom. The convention center is used for conferences, seminars, banquets, parties, and smaller concerts. The Alerus Center is named after a local bank, Alerus Financial, which purchased the facility's naming rights.

The arena has had many big musical acts including Cher, The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, KISS, Aerosmith, Bette Midler, Cirque du Soleil, and Mötley Crüe. The 2002 Cher concert was the largest such event ever held at the arena and, at that time, was the largest audience the entertainer had ever performed in front of. Other non-music events have also been held at the Alerus Center including WWE Smackdown.

Grand Forks is unique because it is a relatively small market with two major event centers that often bid on the same events: the Alerus Center and the Ralph Engelstad Arena. To a lesser extent, the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks also sometimes competes for these same events as well.

Construction has started on an adjacent $40-$50 million "destination center." This addition will include a 13-story Canad Inns hotel, a large waterpark, three restaurants, and another currently unspecififed attraction. A wellness center and spa may be added in the future.

• 1984 - A vote to increase the local sales tax to expand the downtown Civic Auditorium fails
• 1992 - A vote to fund a new convention center on 32nd Avenue South fails
• 1995 - A vote to increase the local sales tax to build a new events center (dubbed The Aurora Events Center) passes with 60% approval
• 1996 - Voters approve spending an additional $17 million to fund the project after the price tag rises
• 1997 - Grand Forks experiences the Flood of 1997 which delays the project
• 1998 - The Aurora is redesigned to make the facility less susceptible to future flooding
• 1999 - Compass Management is hired to manage the facility
• 2000 - The Aurora is renamed The Alerus Center after Alerus Financial, a local bank, buys naming rights for a period of 20 years
• 2001 - The Alerus Center opens on February 10
• 2006 - The Alerus Center celebrates its 5th anniversary
• 2006 - Construction starts on the Canad Inns hotel tower and water park

• Alerus Center website
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 47.910605° -97.091394°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA