Ralph Engelstad Arena, which seats 11,643, opened on October 5, 2001 and is located on the UND campus.[2] The REA is home to the UND men's ice hockey team (UND women's ice hockey team discontinued after 2016–17 season), and hosts select games for UND men's and women's basketball. The arena also hosts many non-athletic events including concerts and a yearly circus. Called the "Taj Mahal of hockey," the $104 million arena was built with materials that would not usually be found in such a facility.[2][3] For instance, the concourses of the REA are covered in granite flooring, each spectator seat is made of Cherry wood and leather upholstery, escalators bring spectators between levels, and full-color LCD displays dot the arena.[2] The REA has been called one of the finest facilities of its kind in the world.[2][4] Former NHL hockey player Wayne Gretzky has called the structure "one of the most beautiful buildings we have in North America."[5]
The REA complex has evolved to include more than just the main arena. A second Olympic-sized sheet of ice sits adjacent to the main arena. An addition to the main arena, The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (or simply The Betty) was completed in 2004 and is now the home of UND's basketball and volleyball teams.
Although located on the campus of the University of North Dakota the arena and land itself is owned by The Engelstad Family Foundation and rented conditionally to UND each year for $1. This setup was created to give the Engelstad family control and final say regarding the facility.
In 2015 the Ralph Engelstad Arena received a certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor for being one of the top rated destinations in America.
In 2019 the REA announced they would install a new $6 million scoreboard. It was unveiled June 26, 2019 and is considered one of the best scoreboards in the country. Numerous other upgrades were completed including a new LED ribbon display wrapping around the entire arena.[6]
During the COVID-19 pandemic the Ralph was being considered by the NHL to potentially host playoff games due to North Dakota's low population density and the high quality of the REA.[7]
Midway during construction, Ralph Engelstad threatened to withdraw his funding if UND's Fighting Sioux sports teams were renamed in deference to political pressures.[8] In an effort to make the prospect of removal a prohibitively costly measure, the Fighting Sioux logo was strategically placed in thousands of instances in the arena, including a large granite logo in the main concourse.[8] After the NCAA barred several universities that use Native American imagery from hosting post-season tournaments or wearing such imagery in post-season play, UND sued the NCAA. A preliminary injunction was granted that would have allowed the Fighting Sioux to both host post-season events and wear their regular uniforms while the lawsuit was in progress. The legal papers filed in support of UND pointed out that the Florida State Seminoles have not been required to change their name, thus raising the possibility that the decision regarding the UND Fighting Sioux was arbitrary and capricious. In addition, the legal papers noted that UND has a Native American Studies program, has Native Americans on its faculty, and has a significant Native American student population.
The lawsuit with the NCAA was settled under the condition that UND had three years to gain tribal support from both Sioux nations in North Dakota, or retire the Sioux name and logo.[9] After the three years expired, permission was obtained from only one of the two Sioux tribes. The North Dakota Legislative Assembly passed a law requiring the University to retain the name in June 2011, but then repealed the law in November 2011. A statewide vote was held in June 2012, and the citizens of North Dakota voted to discontinue the Sioux name, and on October 22, 2012 crews removed signage that declared "Home of the Fighting Sioux" from the face of the building. The 2012 vote also banned UND from choosing a new name for three years. After the nickname ban expired in 2015, the university held two rounds of online fan voting from a suggested list of nicknames; the final selection of Fighting Hawks was adopted in November of that year.
The Ralph and Fargo's Scheels Arena share hosting duties for the North Dakota High School Activities Association State Boys' and Girls' Hockey Tournament, usually taking place during the last weekend in February. REA typically hosts the tournament in even-numbered years with Scheels Arena hosting in odd-numbered years.[10]
Ralph Louis Engelstad was an American businessman who owned the Imperial Palace casino-hotels in Las Vegas and in Biloxi, Mississippi. He also owned the Kona Kai motel in Las Vegas, which later became the Klondike Hotel and Casino. He was also the donor for the construction of the $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena for his alma mater, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and another arena bearing his name in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Engelstad was also a co-developer of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Engelstad was one of the very few independent casino-hotel owners in Las Vegas.
The University of North Dakota is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Summit League. With 17 varsity teams, North Dakota is best known for its Ice Hockey team and American Football team. North Dakota's main rivalries are with the North Dakota State Bison and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Ralph Engelstad Arena was a 6,067-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of North Dakota (UND) campus in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was home to the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey team, and was the host of the 1983 Frozen Four tournament. It was originally named the Winter Sports Center, but was renamed in 1988 to honor alumnus Ralph Engelstad. The arena closed in 2001 and was replaced with the new $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena on the north end of campus.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the Grand Forks campus of the University of North Dakota. They are members of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ice hockey. North Dakota is widely regarded as a premier college hockey school and has one of the most storied programs in NCAA history. UND has made over 30 appearances in the NCAA tournament, appeared in the Frozen Four 22 times, and has won 8 NCAA Division I Championships. The program has also achieved 15 WCHA Regular season Championships, 5 NCHC Regular season Championships, and 12 Conference Tournament championships. The school's former nickname was the Fighting Sioux, which had a lengthy and controversial tenure before ultimately being retired by the university in 2012 due to pressure from the NCAA. The official school nickname is now the Fighting Hawks, a name that was chosen by the university on November 18, 2015.
Travis Roche is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for EHC Black Wings Linz of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).
University Village is a neighborhood in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It is a part of the University of North Dakota (UND) campus and is located directly north of UND's central campus area. The property comprises 160 acres (0.65 km2) located on the banks of the meandering English Coulee directly off U.S. Highway 2. University Village has been developed as a commercial and residential neighborhood with the Ralph Engelstad Arena as the major anchor and has been called "the most valuable piece of real estate in North Dakota."
Scheels Arena is a multi-purpose venue located in Fargo, North Dakota. It is part of the Sanford Health Athletic Park which comprises the arena, the Family Wellness Center, and the Sanford POWER Athletic Center. There are plans to add four additional ice sheets.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates as a women's ice hockey conference in the NCAA's National Collegiate division, the de facto equivalent of Division I in that sport. Founded in 1951 as a men's ice hockey conference, it added a women's division in 1999, and continued to operate men's and women's divisions through the 2020–21 hockey season. After that season, the WCHA disbanded its men's division after seven of its 10 men's members left the conference to reestablish the Central Collegiate Hockey Association; the WCHA remained in operation as a women-only league. Each team plays 28 league games, each team playing four games against every other, two home games and two road games.
The 2011–12 University of North Dakota men's basketball team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by sixth year head coach Brian Jones, played their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, with one home game at Ralph Engelstad Arena, and are members of the Great West Conference. They were champions of the Great West Basketball tournament for the second consecutive year and earned an automatic bid into the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.
The North Dakota Fighting Sioux controversy refers to the controversy surrounding the now retired nickname and logo of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the athletic teams that represented the University of North Dakota (UND) based in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The 2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team was the 75th season of play for the program and 3rd in the NCHC conference. The Fighting Hawks were led by first-year head coach Brad Berry, replacing Dave Hakstol who became head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. His assistant coaches were Dane Jackson, Matt Shaw, and Karl Goehring. The Fighting Hawks played their home games in Ralph Engelstad Arena and competed in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
The 1957–58 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team represented University of Denver in college ice hockey. In its 2nd year under head coach Murray Armstrong the team compiled a 24–10–2 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time. The Pioneers defeated North Dakota 6–2 in the championship game at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first national title not held at the Broadmoor Ice Palace. Denver became the first team to win its inaugural championship appearance since Michigan in 1948, the first time the tournament was held.
The 1958–59 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team represented the University of North Dakota in college ice hockey. In its 2nd year under head coach Bob May the team compiled a 20–10–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the second time. The Fighting Sioux defeated Michigan State 4–3 in overtime to win the championship game at the RPI Field House in Troy, New York, the first national title hosted by an eastern school.
The 1978–79 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota in college ice hockey. In its 7th year under head coach Herb Brooks the team compiled a 32–11–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the eighth time. The Golden Gophers defeated North Dakota 4–3 in the championship game at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan to win their third national championship.
The 1979–80 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team represented the University of North Dakota in college ice hockey. In its 2nd year under head coach John Gasparini the team compiled a 31–8–1 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the eighth time. The Fighting Sioux defeated Northern Michigan 5–2 to win the championship game at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The 1981–82 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team represented the University of North Dakota in college ice hockey. In its fourth year under head coach John Gasparini, the team compiled a 35–12–0 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the ninth time. The Fighting Sioux defeated Wisconsin 5–2 to win the championship game at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The 1986–87 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team represented the University of North Dakota in college ice hockey. In its 9th year under head coach John Gasparini the team compiled a 40–8–0 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the eleventh time. The Fighting Sioux defeated defending champion Michigan State 5–3 to win the championship game at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
The 1996–97 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey team represented the University of North Dakota in college ice hockey during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. In its 3rd year under head coach Dean Blais the team compiled a 31–10–2 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the thirteenth time. The Fighting Sioux defeated Boston University 6–4 to win the championship game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The 1999–2000 North Dakota Fighting Sioux men's ice hockey season was the 58th season of play for the program. They represented the University of North Dakota in the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season and for the 49th season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The Fighting Sioux were coached by Dean Blais, in his 6th season, and played their home games at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
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