Varsity Venues — The Bennies of Taking Your Minnesota Team to a Sports Venue

You can’t help but lead your team to victory when you plan your next event at a Minnesota sports venue. That’s because the days when a ball park was nothing more than a collection of uncomfortable bleachers and beer-stained concrete floors is long gone. Now, you can expect that ball parks, civic centers, and sports facilities are beautifully designed venues offering expansive space, state-of-the-art technology, delicious food and refreshing beverage options. Consider these when you’re putting together your game plan:

If you’re keeping score, then the National Sports Center is a venue that racks up the points. Send your team to train at this 600-acre campus with over 50 grass soccer fields, an eight-sheet ice arena, an 18-hole golf course, a cycling velodrome and 100,000 square feet of indoor training and meeting space. But that’s not all! An on-site residence hall offers accommodations for up to 180 with a dining hall, laundry facilities, showers and more. 

Renowned for its unique 110,000 square foot outdoor skating rink known as “The Oval,” the Roseville Skating Center + City Hall features indoor/outdoor skating plus a banquet facility for groups of up to 300. Host to special events throughout the winter season, this facility will prove a winning choice for your champs.

Hit one out of the park by bringing your team to the new home of the Saint Paul Saints at CHS Field. Located near downtown St. Paul, the new ballpark is easily accessible with skybox and luxury suites available for game watching or a catered picnic for the gang beforehand. With between-inning promotions -- from a piano chariot race to sumo wrestling -- an outing with the Saints is always memorable.

With a combined 50,000 square feet of both ice and dry floor space, the multi-purpose Four Seasons Civic Centre in lovely Owatonna is varsity-level all the way. With additional hospitality and meeting space, this venue is located just 60 minutes south of the Twin Cities with lots of lodging, restaurants and local attractions nearby for both work and play.

Scoring big with 45,000 square feet of flexible space, a 600-person banquet hall, historic reception hall and five smaller meeting room for groups of 10-50, the expanding Verizon Wireless Center in Mankato is what we’d call a winning venue. Located on what’s known as “Convention Campus,” the Center teams up with two full-service hotels to offer 269 guestrooms, two restaurants (with 23 more within walking distance) and easy access to shopping, nightlife and entertainment.

Rochester has seen its share of victorious gatherings at the Mayo Civic Center. With a $79 million expansion, the Center is scheduled to reopen in 2017. Once complete, your squad can tackle the big challenges in the more than 200,000 square feet of flexible meeting and exhibit space, featuring a grand ballroom and meeting rooms to accommodate more than 2000 attendees. Surrounded by the stunning 11 acre Mayo Park, the Center will be the ideal location for outdoor events too.

They’ll come out swinging when you bring your gang to the Uppercut Boxing Gym. This spacious, unique location can host everything from your company party to a charity event with up to 13,000 square feet of flexible space. Decorate however you choose for a knock out gathering.

Come in first place when you saddle up your crew for an event at Canterbury Park. Plan a poker tournament, cheer for live racing or have a friendly competition and pick your winners for simulcast racing. Whether you’re a group of 30 or 300, this venue is the trifecta of fun!

Hit the jackpot when you host your event at Running Aces Harness Park. They’ve got it all — live racing, card games, live music, craft beers and a 24-hour table-side grill, making it the superstar venue for your winning team.

Long considered the premier racing facility in the Midwest, Elko Speedway Champions Event Center invites your crew to come to a checkered flag event featuring stock car racing, NASCAR racing, monster trucks, and school bus racing. They even have drive-in movie theater on summer nights.

No doubt about it, when you take your team out to a sports venue, you become the MVP!