Sports
The Saint Paul division of Parks and Recreation runs over 1,500 organized sports teams. In addition, the Parks and Recreation department is responsible for 160 parks and 41 recreation centers.
Saint Paul hosts a number of professional, semi-professional, and amateur sports teams. The Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Swarm both play their home games in downtown Saint Paul's Xcel Energy Center, which was built for the Wild in 2000. The Wild brought the NHL back to Minnesota for the first time since 1993, when the Minnesota North Stars left the state for Dallas, Texas. Citing the history of hockey in the Twin Cities and teams at all levels, Sports Illustrated called Saint Paul the new Hockeytown U.S.A. in 2007.
The Xcel Energy Center, a multi-purpose entertainment and sports venue, can be converted to host concerts and accommodate nearly all sporting events. The Xcel Energy Center is located on the site of the demolished Saint Paul Civic Center. The Xcel Energy Center hosts the Minnesota high school boys hockey Tournament, Minnesota High School Girl's Volleyball Tournament and concerts though out the year. In 2004, it was named the best overall sports venue in the US by ESPN. Previously, the Minnesota Fighting Saints had played in Saint Paul from 1972 to 1977.
The St. Paul Saints is the city's minor league baseball team. There have been several different teams called the Saints over the years. Originally founded in 1884, they were shut down in 1961 after the Minnesota Twins moved to Bloomington. The St. Paul Saints were brought back in 1993 as an independent baseball team in the Northern League, moving to the American Association in 2006. Their home games are played at open-air Midway Stadium in Energy Park in the northwest section of the city. Four noted Major League All Star baseball players are natives of Saint Paul: Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, Hall of Fame infielder Paul Molitor, pitcher Jack Morris, and catcher Joe Mauer. The all-black St. Paul Colored Gophers played four seasons in Saint Paul from 1907 to 1911.
The St. Paul Twin Stars of the National Premier Soccer League play their home games at Macalester Stadium. The first curling club in Saint Paul was founded in 1888. The current club, the St. Paul Curling Club, was founded in 1912 and is the largest curling club in the United States. The Minnesota RollerGirls are a flat-track roller derby league that is based in the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Minnesota's oldest athletic organization, the Minnesota Boat Club, resides in the Mississippi River on Raspberry Island. Saint Paul is also home to Circus Juventas, the largest circus arts school in North America.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, Twins, and Vikings all play in Minneapolis.
| Professional Sports in Saint Paul | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Sport | League | Venue | Championships |
| Minnesota Swarm | Indoor lacrosse | National Lacrosse League Eastern Division | Xcel Energy Center | |
| Minnesota Wild | Ice hockey | National Hockey League, Western Conference | Xcel Energy Center | |
| Saint Paul Saints | Baseball | American Association North Division | Midway Stadium | Northern League Championship: 1993, 1995, 1996, 2004 |
| St. Paul Twin Stars | Soccer | National Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference | Macalester Stadium | |
Read more about this topic: Saint Paulites
Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“In the end, I think you really only get as far as you’re allowed to get.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)
“Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,
Thy sports are fled and all thy charms withdrawn;
Amidst thy bowers the tyrant’s hand is seen,
And desolation saddens all thy green;
One only master grasps the whole domain,
And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain;”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730?–1774)
“Guys do not have a genetic blueprint that allows them to understand or love sports.”
—Lesley Visser, U.S. sports reporter and announcer. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 82 (June 17, 1991)