With the donation of $100 million to the University of North Dakota (UND), Grand Forks, benefactor Ralph Engelstad stipulated that half be used to construct a new 11,400-seat hockey arena, doubling the seating capacity of the existing arena at UND, whose fate has not yet been decided.
The donation is one of the largest ever to a university or college in the United States. Engelstad was a goalie with the UND hockey team in the 1950s and was offered a contract by the Chicago Blackhawks but turned it down to pursue a business career. He graduated from UND in 1954 with a degree in commerce. He currently resides in Las Vegas.
The money that is left after constructing the hockey arena is to go to UND, with details to be worked out with UND officials. So far the cost of the arena is said to be up to $70 million.
Hockey will be the primary focus of the building but the intent is to hold other events there as well, said Mike Kuntz, project manager for Schoen Associates of Grand Forks, ND, the building designer. “The intent is to make the hockey program everything it can be with ample ice time and practice time. Most of the 48 private suites are sold and it is the intent to keep those people happy by giving them events to go to.”
The 11,400 seats will accommodate various levels of seating and will be leather padded. The lower level will contain 5,586 of the seats, the upper deck will contain 4,772 seats, there will be 768 seats in the carpeted suites, and 280 seats in the rental rooms.
Located just off of North Columbia Road in Grand Forks, construction is well under way, having started in December 1999. Completion is expected by the 2001-2002 hockey season, Kuntz said. “Twenty-two months on this type of project is very, very tight.” But all is going well so far with about 20 prime contractors on the job and about 60 subcontractors. The Challenge Group of St. Louis, MO, is the construction management team for the project.
Steel beams were set in October on the 107-ft. (33 m) tall structure, using basket booms from Rental Service Corps (RSC) in Fargo, ND. About three stories, 16 ft. (5 m), of the structure are below grade, housing locker rooms, training space, rehabilitation pools, a weight room, circuit training, parent lounges, player lounges, a press interview room and space for buses to pull in and unload passengers, Kuntz explained.
The two-story arena will house a first-aid room on the main concourse, cutting-edge sound, lighting and scoreboard systems, a pro shop, and the Sioux tradition/Hall of Fame. It also will be ADA accessible. About 2,500 parking spaces on site and another 1,500 off site will be prepared to accommodate hockey fans.
The lobby entrance of the Ralph Engelstad Arena will house the National Championship trophies. The interior will include granite floors, brass/metal ceilings, and steel railings and gates, creating an older Ivy League feel, Kuntz explained. Glass rails add to the fully heated and air conditioned facility. Eight video screens will hang in the center of the arena. Around the entire interior will be a 900-ft. (274 m) long facia video ring to display advertising and to show replays, he added.
Five lifts from RSC will be used in the arena by the time the project is complete, said Ryan Eidsness of RSC in Fargo. General contractor Wanzek Construction of Fargo, ND, is renting a 45-ft. (24 m) boom, an 80-ft. boom and a couple of 120-ft. (37 m) booms from RSC. The smaller ones are being used on the lower levels; the 45-ft. (24 m) articulating boom makes it easier to reach those hard-to-reach places. “They had an 80-foot articulating boom there for a while but replaced it with a 120-foot boom as the building progressed in height,” he said.
In late October, six roof trusses that weigh nearly 200 tons (180 t) were constructed on the ground and then raised into the air using a Lampsin crane with a 600-ton (540 t) capacity and a 250-ft. (76 m) boom. The crane was brought in using several semis from the Seattle, WA, area, Kuntz noted, and it was assembled on site. “I lost track after 30 semis.”
Next the exterior of the arena will be constructed, which will carry the tradition of UND with its classic masonry materials. “The outside will consist of brick, precast and lots of glass and a lot of curtain wall and a metal roof for the main enclosure pieces,” Kuntz said.
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