Minneapolis Auditorium
Home of the Minneapolis Lakers from 1947 to 1959.
Minneapolis Auditorium was an indoor arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It hosted the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers from 1947 until they moved to the Minneapolis Armory in 1959. The arena held 10,000 people and was built in 1927. By the 1960s, the Auditorium was considered inadequate for hosting major events. As a result, the building was expanded to add a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) Convention Hall capable of accommodating up to 12,000 more people, which opened on September 28, 1965. However, the building fell into obscurity after the opening of the Met Center in suburban Bloomington in 1967. It was initially demolished for a parking lot, not to make way for the Minneapolis Convention Center (which was built on an adjacent site). The final event at the old Auditorium was a concert by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra on May 28, 1988, and demolition began soon after.
- Location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Primary Team Era
- Minneapolis Lakers (1947–1959)
- Championships Hosted
- 5 NBA Titles (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954)
- Key Figure
- George Mikan
- Historical Significance
- Birthplace of the Lakers Dynasty
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
According to the Minneapolis magazine, when it opened on June 4, 1927, the Auditorium had a seating capacity of 5,687 on its balcony, 4,160 on its floor, and 698 on the stage, for a total of 10,545 (roughly 6,800 for ice hockey or figure skating). The auditorium took two years to construct, cost $3 million (in 1927 dollars), covered an area of 230 by 540 feet (approximately two city blocks), had a stage 50 by 186 feet (15 m × 57 m) in area, and 80-foot (24 m) tall ceiling. Construction of the building took 3.25 million bricks, 15,000 yards of concrete, and 5,000 tons of steel.
In Their Own Story
The Minneapolis Auditorium was where the Lakers' dynasty was forged. In their first season after relocating from Detroit, the team—with new coach John Kundla and George Mikan—won the NBL championship. A week before the NBL finals, they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament, with Mikan scoring a tournament-record 40 points in the title-clinching game. The following season, the Lakers switched to the BAA and won that championship. After the merger forming the NBA, they won the inaugural NBA title. The Auditorium also witnessed the lowest-scoring game in NBA history on November 22, 1950, a 19–18 loss to the Fort Wayne Pistons that later influenced the introduction of the shot clock. The venue remained the Lakers' home until the team moved to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season.
Reader's Guide
The Minneapolis Lakers played at the Auditorium from 1947 until 1959, when they moved to the Minneapolis Armory. The building was expanded with a Convention Hall that opened on September 28, 1965. The final event was a concert by Marie Osmond on February 26, 1988. Demolition began soon after, and the site was replaced by the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Did You Know?
- The Auditorium's total seating capacity at opening was 10,545, though it was roughly 6,800 for ice hockey or figure skating.
- The building took two years to construct and cost $3 million in 1927 dollars.
- It used 3.25 million bricks, 15,000 yards of concrete, and 5,000 tons of steel.
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