The Bismarck Event Center (formerly Bismarck Civic Center) is a 10,100-seat multi-purpose facility located in
Bismarck, North Dakota. It was known as the Bismarck Civic Center until September 2014.
Ritterbush Brothers received an Award of Merit for the design from AIA North Dakota in 1970.
["Celebrating over 50 Years of Great Design. A complete listing of AIA North Dakota award winners from 1963 - 2019," AIA North Dakota, 2019.]
The land was purchased from the Wachter family of Bismarck, who also donated land for parking lots adjacent to the civic center. The Wachters then developed the adjacent
Kirkwood Mall on their land south of the arena.
It was the home of the
Dakota Wizards
The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...
of the
Continental Basketball Association and
NBA Development League. It also hosted the
2002 Ford World Men's Curling Championship. For several years, the
Professional Bull Riders
The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) is an international professional bull riding organization based in Pueblo, Colorado, United States. In the U.S., PBR events have been televised on CBS and CBS Sports Network since 2012. In 2013, the ...
(PBR) has hosted a Touring Pro Division (minor-league division, formerly known as the Challenger Tour) event at the Civic Center; in 2004, it was voted as the top PBR Challenger Tour venue.
In 2017, the event center became the home to a new professional
indoor football team in
Champions Indoor Football
Champions Indoor Football (CIF) is a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...
called the
Bismarck Bucks
The Bismarck Bucks are an indoor American football team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. The Bucks joined Champions Indoor Football (CIF) as an expansion team in 2016, and began play for the 2017 season. The team moved to the Indoor Football Lea ...
.
The Bucks joined the
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...
for the 2019 season.
References
External links
Bismarck Civic Center website
Convention centers in North Dakota
Sports venues in North Dakota
Defunct NBA G League venues
Dakota Wizards
Buildings and structures in Bismarck, North Dakota
Tourist attractions in Bismarck, North Dakota
Continental Basketball Association venues
Rodeo venues in the United States
Basketball venues in North Dakota
Indoor arenas in North Dakota
Arena football venues
1969 establishments in North Dakota
Sports venues completed in 1969
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