NATIONAL SPORTS CENTER MAJOR MILESTONES
1987 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007
1987
Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich signed legislation creating the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission. As part of that statewide initiative, $14.7 million is appropriated for construction of the National Sports Center.
1990
National Sports Center opened on 92 acres of land. Today the facility covers over 600 acres. The original facility featured the Velodrome, Sports Hall, Residence Hall and Dining Hall, Stadium, and less than 25 soccer fields.
U.S. Olympic Festival hosted cycling and soccer at the NSC.
USA CUP moved from the adjacent Blaine Soccer Complex and instantly became the NSC’s largest annual event, with 390 teams participating. Within a decade the tournament would grow to nearly 1,000 teams.
USA vs. Cuba National Team wrestling dual meet brought fans to the NSC Sports Hall.
North American Cup Women’s International Soccer -- USA, USSR, West Germany, and England. USA swept the tournament with scores of 8-0 vs. USSR, 3-0 vs. England and 3-0 vs. West Germany.
The Sika Bram Track and Field Invitational attracted stars such as Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee to the NSC Stadium.
The US Men’s National Soccer Team battled Moscow Spartak from the Soviet Union in the Stadium.
The NSC hosted three major weightlifting championships: National Junior Championships, the Under 23 Nationals, and the American Open Weightlifting Championships.
First-year visitorship at the NSC was 386,000. In the next sixteen years it would grow nearly ten times.
1991
International Special Olympics soccer games are held at the NSC.
Star of the North State Games, Minnesota’s amateur Olympic-style event brought over 10,000 athletes from around the state to compete in over 30 different sports.
Australian teams participated in USA CUP for the first time.
World-class weightlifting returned to the NSC, as the facility hosted the inaugural National School-age Championships and the American Open, for a second time.
1992
U.S. Olympic Cycling Trials attracted large crowds and intense media coverage to the NSC Velodrome. USA cyclists went on to win two medals at Barcelona Olympic Games.
The world’s most famous athlete, Pele, opened USA CUP at the Opening Ceremonies in the Metrodome.
1993
World Championship Cycling Trials at the NSC Velodrome selected the team to represent the U.S. at the World Cycling Championships in Hamar, Norway.
Star of the North State Games returned for the second time. The NSC hosted track and field, soccer, cycling, martial arts, opening ceremonies and the event headquarters.
U.S. Women’s National Team star Michelle Akers-Stahl appeared at the USA CUP Opening Ceremony.
Masters World Cup cycling race attracted the best over-30 year old riders in the World.
The National Junior Weightlifting Championships were held in the Sports Hall.
1994
USA CUP celebrated its 10th anniversary with 700 teams playing.
All-American Girls and Women’s Hockey Tournament was created by the NSC to tap into the growth of female hockey. Now the tournament is an annual event at the Schwan Super Rink.
Masters World Cup cycling event returned to the NSC Velodrome for a second year.
US Youth Soccer National Championships were held on the NSC Fields.
1995
All-American Girls Soccer Tournament began its annual run. Initially the tournament occupied dates immediately before USA CUP. Now it has its own weekend in June.
USA International Hockey Cup attracted a national and internationals field, and marked the NSC’s first summer hockey tournament. Now the event covers five weekends each summer, and is held at the Schwan Super Rink.
North American Indigenous Games attracted 8,000 athletes from U.S. and Canada.
1996
USA CUP went high-tech with the unveiling of a new big thing -- at the time -- a website!
1997
Pele returned to USA CUP for a second time. However as dignitaries celebrated his arrival at a VIP dinner, a huge thunderstorm flooded the NSC campus in knee-deep water. Games were delayed and rescheduled, but eventually the tournament got back on schedule and concluded on time six days later.
The USA Weightlifting National Championships, the top domestic weightlifting event in the country, was held in the Sports Hall.
1998
The Schwan Super Rink opened as the U.S.’s only ice facility with four sheets of Olympic-size rinks under one roof.
Schwan’s and Adidas joined USA CUP as new sponsors, and the event is renamed Schwan’s USA CUP.
World Ultimate Championship brought the best disc sport athletes from 13 countries to the NSC Fields.
National Sports Center attendance topped 2 million visitors for the first time.
Minnesota Legislature approved $3.1 million for construction of the National Youth Golf Center. The rest of the $11 million project would be raised privately.
Stick-It to Cancer Women’s and Girls Hockey Tournament is created to raise funds for cancer treatment. Teams agreed to forego awards so more money can be donated to charity, a practice that still exists today.
1999
EDS Cup cycling event attracted all the top North American riders to the NSC Velodrome.
National Junior B Hockey Championships started an annual run at the Schwan Super Rink.
2000
Tournament Greens, an 18-hole bent grass putting course, opened as the first-phase development at National Youth Golf Center.
EDS Cup cycling event returned for a second year at the NSC Velodrome.
U.S. Co-ed Ultimate Championships was held on the NSC fields.
ISI World Figure Skating Championships, popular among recreational skaters, brought over 1,000 skaters to the Schwan Super Rink.
Ferdie Ato Adoboe set a the world record for soccer ball juggling by touching the ball 266 times in 60 seconds during a demonstration at Schwan’s USA CUP.
2001
Women’s World Hockey Championship, with the eight best National teams in the world, scheduled games at the Schwan Super Rink and Columbia Arena.
U.S. National Track Cycling Championships was held at the NSC Velodrome. Olympic Champion Marty Nothstein won three gold medals.
USA Women’s National Soccer Team defeated Canada 1-0 in front of 15,615 fans and a live ESPN television audience.
U.S. Short Track Speedskating Championship is held at the Schwan Super Rink. The overall champion is the soon-to-be Olympic superstar Apolo Anton Ohno.
The Schwan Cup hockey tournament is created to be the biggest and best holiday high school hockey tournament in the U.S. Just five years later, 24 boys and 40 girls teams play at the Schwan Super Rink, Xcel Center and other venues around the Twin Cities. The event is now the top holiday high school tournament, in any sport, in Minnesota.
2002
World Broomball Championship was held at the Schwan Super Rink. A U.S. team, a local Blaine, Minnesota team to boot, won the U.S.’s first men’s world title in this sport.
Over 2,000 youth golfers participated in lessons and clinics at the National Youth Golf Center, and the opening of the full 18-hole course was more than a year away!
USA 4, Norway 0, was the score in an important Women’s National Soccer Team game played in front of 8,357 fans in the NSC Stadium. Millions more watched live on ESPN television. Mia Hamm, Tiffeny Milbrett and Cindy Parlow notched goals for the USA.
Chinese Olympic hockey and speedskating teams lived at the NSC and trained at the Schwan Super Rink for several weeks before the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.
2003
USA Rugby Women’s National Championship, the most prestigious women’s rugby tournament in the U.S., began a three-year residency at the NSC.
The U17 U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team made its first visit to the NSC. The USA defeated Canada 3-1 in front of 10,511 fans during Schwan’s USA CUP. The attraction? 14 year-old phenom Freddy Adu, who scored one goal in the victory.
The Stanley Cup made an appearance at the Stick-it to Cancer charity hockey tournament at the Schwan Super Rink.
2004
Victory Links, the NSC’s premier 18-hole events golf course, opened at the National Youth Golf Center. Designed by the PGA Tour Design Services, the course immediately garnered rave reviews from experts and beginners alike. Uniquely, youth golfers are given priority for tee times.
ISI World Figure Skating Championships made a second visit to the Schwan Super Rink.
USA Football Classic, now an annual NSC event, became the first youth football tournament on the NSC calendar.
The North American Hockey League Junior A Hockey Showcase brought elite junior players, including many future college and NHL players, from all over North America, for a four-day festival. This event has become an annual fixture at the Schwan Super Rink.
The AARP Senior Olympic Hockey Championship is moved to its new permanent home, the Schwan Super Rink.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, an avid recreational hockey player, brought his all-star hockey team for a benefit game at the Stick-it to Cancer Tournament at the Schwan Super Rink. Pawlenty’s team played against a team led by former Minnesota Governor, and ex-Olympian, Wendell Anderson.
USA Rugby Women’s National Championship finished its second year at the NSC.
USA Rugby hosted US vs. Canada in a key international test match in the NSC Stadium.
Mia Hamm was the star attraction as the USA defeated Australia 3-0, in an important Women’s National Soccer Team. The two teams would play just a month later in the Olympic Games, so the game drew a sell-out crowd of 10,276 and a live ESPN television audience. Shannon Boxx and Abby Wambach found the net for the USA, but most notably, Hamm scored her historic 150th international goal. The USA went on to win gold medal at the Athens Olympics a month later.
Super Soccer Series during Schwan’s USA CUP brought three elite U17 international teams to the NSC – the USA and Canada National Teams and Cruz Azul from Mexico. USA notched a 1-2 record, with a split in two games against Canada, and a 0-2 loss to Cruz Azul.
President George Bush visited the NSC for a speech in the Sports Hall.
NSC opened its own Soccer Development Academy, directed by Minnesota soccer legend Alan Merrick.
Schwan’s USA CUP celebrated its 20th anniversary with 950 teams from 31 U.S. states and 20 countries.
2005
Schwan Center sports event and meeting center opened. One of the first major speakers is NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Schwan Clubhouse opened at the National Youth Golf Center.
U.S. Collegiate Club Lacrosse National Championships featured the best non-NCAA collegiate lacrosse teams in the U.S.
RE/MAX Junior World Long Drive Championship is held on the soccer fields on the north side of the NSC campus. The event is televised by ESPN on a tape-delay basis.
USA Rugby Women’s National Championship finished a three-year run at the NSC.
Soccer great Freddy Adu, now playing for the U20 U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, played at the NSC in a rain-soaked 2-1 USA victory over Canada.
The Super Soccer Series, held during Schwan’s USA CUP returned as the USA and Canada U17 National Teams and Paisley United from Scotland played a three-game series. USA scores: 9-0 vs. Paisley United, 0-2 vs. Canada.
Fox Sports North televised all four boys gold division first-round games of the Schwan Cup hockey tournament.
Annual visitorship at the NSC is 3.28 million, making it the most-visited sports facility in Minnesota.
Plans are announced for the development of a “sports mall” retail and commercial development on 16 acres of the NSC campus. Frauenshuh Companies is selected to develop this site, which will provide services to the youth-amateur sports clientele of the NSC. Opening date is tentatively set for 2008.
World Broomball Championship returned to the Schwan Super Rink for the second time October 30-Novemeber 4. Teams came from four different countries – U.S., Canada, Japan, and Italy. U.S. teams hailed from five different states – Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, Oregon, and Ohio – and Canadian teams represented four provinces – Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario.
In December, four additional sheets of ice opened at the Schwan Super Rink, making it the world’s largest ice arena. At the same time, Columbia Arena, owned and operated by the NSC, closed its doors and the former Columbia Arena ice users moved to the new sheets of ice at the NSC campus.
USA, Sweden and Canada Women’s National Soccer Teams played a two-game series at Schwan’s USA CUP. On July 15, Kristine Lilly scored with just seconds left in the game as the USA beat Sweden 3-2 in front of a live audience on ESPN2. Two days later, Charmaine Hooper scored three goals for Canada in a 4-2 victory over Sweden.
2007
In January, the Herb Brooks Training Center was dedicated in front of a capacity audience that included Governor Tim Pawlenty, past Governor Wendell Anderson, the Herb Brooks family, and several of Brooks’ players from the 1980 Olympic gold-medal winning U.S Hockey team. The Herb Brooks Center is a dry land hockey and skating training facility inside the Schwan Super Rink.
In April, the new NSC Figure Skating Center opened. The new facility features an indoor dance room, staff offices and a small skating apparel store.