Wells Fargo Arena is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, United States. Part of the

Iowa Events Center The Iowa Events Center is a public events complex located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History The Iowa Events Center consists of the existing Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, the existing Polk County Convention ...

, the arena opened on July 12, 2005, at a cost of $117 million. Named for title sponsor

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

, the arena replaced the aging Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center as the Des Moines area's primary venue for sporting events and concerts. Wells Fargo Arena seats 15,181 people for hockey and arena football games, 16,110 for basketball games, and as many as 16,980 for concerts. It also features The Fort Restaurant, which provides views of the

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...

and the

Iowa State Capitol The Iowa State Capitol, commonly called the Iowa Statehouse, is in Iowa's capital city, Des Moines. As the seat of the Iowa General Assembly, the building houses the Iowa Senate, Iowa House of Representatives, the Office of the Governor, and the O ...

. The restaurant opened on October 6, 2005, coinciding with the

Iowa Stars The Iowa Stars, later known as the Iowa Chops, were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The club was based in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena. History The Stars were founded by Howard Baldwin, of Hockey Holdi ...

' inaugural home game. The arena is also connected to the rest of the Iowa Events Center as well as

downtown Des Moines Downtown Des Moines is the central business district of Des Moines, Iowa and the Greater Des Moines Metropolitan Area. Downtown Des Moines is defined by the City of Des Moines as located between the Des Moines River to the east, the Raccoon River ...

through the city's Skywalk system.

Usage

The first event held at the arena was

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

's Boom-Boom Huck Jam, on July 1. Its first concert, featuring

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...

with

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Ge ...

, was held on July 18. Wells Fargo Arena is home to the Iowa Wolves (formerly named the Iowa Energy) of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA D ...

, the

Iowa Barnstormers The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The ...

of 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 ...

and the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

. From 2005 until 2009, Wells Fargo Arena served as the home of the

's Iowa Chops. The arena is notable for hosting the inaugural game of the reincarnation of the Arena Football League on April 2, 2010, between the Barnstormers and

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team played at the Allstate Arena from 2001 to 2013. They were a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League ( ...

, televised nationally by

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

It was the host for the first and second Round games for the

2008 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament The 2008 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament involved 64 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the 2007–08 national champion of women's NCAA Division I college basketball. It commenced on March 22, 2008, and c ...

and served as a regional site 2012 tournament. In 2013, it hosted the

NCAA Wrestling Team Championship The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have been held annually since 1928, except for a hiatus in 1943–45 during World War II and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 1928 and from 1931–1933, there was only an unofficial team t ...

. It has hosted the state high school wrestling and basketball tournaments since 2006 and the Big Four Classic, a doubleheader featuring the state's four men's Division I teams, since 2012. The arena hosted the 2011 NBA D-League Finals, which saw the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

win their first title on their home court and set the D-League attendance record with 14,036 fans in the arena for Game 2. In 2016, the arena hosted first and second-round games for the Men's NCAA basketball tournament after having failed on several prior bids. The NCAA Men's basketball tournament returned to Wells Fargo Arena in 2019, hosting the tournament's first and second round from March 21 to 23. The tournament is slated to return again in 2023. In 2020, the arena gained a temporary second hockey tenant when the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...

announced plans to begin their season downtown after damage to their home arena during the

August 2020 Midwest derecho The August 2020 Midwest derecho was a powerful derecho affecting the Midwestern United States on August 10–11, 2020, primarily eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. It caused high winds and spawned an outbreak of weak torn ...

. The Buccaneers returned to their previous arena in January 2021.

Tenants

Current tenants

of the AHL, affiliate of the NHL's

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

* Iowa Wolves of the

, affiliate of the NBA's

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

of the IFL

Former tenants

of the AHL; the team operated from 2005 to 2008 as the Iowa Stars (affiliate of the NHL's

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

) and in 2008–09 as the Iowa Chops (affiliate of the NHL's

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center ...

Events

* Slipknot: from Des Moines 2009 & 2016; played their song "Iowa" *

's Boom Boom Huck Jam: 2005 *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

: 2005 & 2017 *

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

: 6 sold-out shows (April - May, 2016) * ''

The Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' Sports Awards, held annually *

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Wrestling National Championship: 2013 *

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

: 2005, 2017 * WWE Raw & Smackdown Live! *

The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...

: 2018 *

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

& The Heartbreakers: 2016 *

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) ...

: November, 2017 *

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

: 2016 *

Men's Basketball First & Second Rounds: 2016 & 2019 *

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

: 2017 *

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

: 2017 *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

: 2016 *

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

: 2018 *

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to ...

: 2017 *

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

: 2017 *

Women's Volleyball Championships: 2016 *

Justin Moore Justin Cole Moore (born March 30, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Big Machine Records imprint Valory Music Group. For that label, he has released six studio albums: his self titled debut in 2009, '' Outlaws ...

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

: 2017 *

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

: 2018 *

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hur ...

: 2016 & 2018 *

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...

: 2015 & 2018 *

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...

: 2019 *

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...

: 2019 *

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

: 2009, 2011, 2013 & 2015 *

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine (service), Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, ...

: 2019 *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

: Farewell Tour 2022

References

External links

Wells Fargo Arena Information
{{Authority control Convention centers in Iowa Arena football venues Indoor ice hockey venues in the United States NBA G League venues Basketball venues in Iowa Sports venues in Greater Des Moines Iowa Stars Iowa Wild Sports in Des Moines, Iowa Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Iowa Energy Tourist attractions in Des Moines, Iowa 2005 establishments in Iowa Sports venues completed in 2005 Iowa Wolves Indoor arenas in Iowa