John’s Jottings: Changes Coming To State Tournament Venues
Several Sports Could Be Impacted, Some Events Could Leave U of M
Artist’s rendition of Lee & Penny Anderson Arena at the University of St. Thomas. (Credit: University of St. Thomas.)
When the University of Minnesota announced in June that it will sell Les Bolstad Golf Course, alarm bells went off not in high school golf circles, but in the high school cross-country community. Bolstad, in Falcon Heights near the state fairgrounds, has hosted occasional regular-season high school golf events over the years, but it has had a larger impact as the host of cross-country events, including the annual Roy Griak Invitational – involving high school and college runners from all over the country – as well as Minnesota high school state championship races.
When the 2025 state championships are held on Nov. 1, it will usher in an era of uncertainty. Bolstad will be sold in 2026, presumably to a developer that will build housing, retail or who knows what. So no more golf or cross-country will be held there once snow flies this winter. Golfers will find other courses, but high school cross-country is in a pickle.
Bolstad hosted the high school cross-country championships from 1964 until 1990, when the event moved to St. Olaf College in Northfield. St. Olaf provided a high-level venue for many years, but when high school cross-country moved from two to three classes in 2021, administrators at St. Olaf chose not to renew their contract as host. Three classes of competition meant more fans, more crowd control, more cars and buses, more trash cleanup and more headaches.
So the cross-country meet moved back to Bolstad. No site for 2026 has been decided, and it’s a challenge to find a suitable venue. More on that in a minute…
The cross-country dilemma is just part of a larger picture that could see other changes to state tournament venues. One change came this past spring when the state softball tournament, held entirely at Caswell Park in North Mankato for many years, moved its four state championships games to Jane Sage Cowles Stadium at the University of Minnesota. That seemed to work well, although a few folks complained to me about traffic and parking on the campus.
High school state tournament games have been held at the U of M in girls and boys basketball, boys hockey, tennis and swimming, among others. As the state’s premier public university, you might think that the U of M would provide its venues for high school state tournaments at no cost, meaning the Gophers would not look at those events as a source of revenue. That is not the case. Over the years, the rental fees for Williams Arena, 3M Arena at Mariucci and other campus spots have risen as new contracts are negotiated.
It seems to make sense that the university would embrace all the families that come to campus for high school tournaments, viewing it as opportunity to attract future students and Gophers ticket buyers. That may very well be the case, but there is some hesitancy for fans who have the opportunity to travel for games at the U. I don’t how many times over the years I have heard from fans in Greater Minnesota who are intimidated by Twin Cities traffic, especially around the U of M campus, parking on campus, and what can be lengthy walks from parking lots and ramps to the tournament site. This spring, for example, parking and walking to the softball stadium required signs directing fans to the site, which is not easy to find for the uninitiated.
High school sports fans are used to high school parking lots and high school venues. So it can be quite different to book hotel rooms, travel for two or three hours, navigate unfamiliar Twin Cities freeways and streets, and make your way to a game, whether it’s the Twins or the Vikings or the Wild or the Timberwolves or the Lynx or the Gophers or high school games.
Now, sports fans like to complain about lots of things, that’s for sure. I include myself in that statement. But the landscape is changing for state tournaments, as evidenced by this year’s softball move to the U of and M and next year’s cross-country move to a site yet to be decided.
According to a September 16 article in the Minnesota Star Tribune, written by Joe Christensen: “Soon after the university announced plans to close Bolstad, Lakeville North cross-country coach Chad Claybaugh gave a presentation to coaches, detailing nine alternatives. The list: Majestic Oaks in Blaine, Little Falls Golf Club, Arrowood Resort in Alexandria, Stones Throw Golf Course in Milaca, St. John’s campus in Collegeville, Green Haven Golf Course in Anoka, Theodore Wirth Golf Course in Minneapolis, Arvig Park in Perham and Benson Park in North Mankato.”
I don’t know if any of those sites are highly suitable for a cross-country championship, considering how much space is needed for fans and vendors, how much parking is available, and other factors. The Twin Cities has always been a traditional home for most state tournaments, but there is no reason to ignore outstate sites that are workable.
At St. Olaf as well as Bolstad, fans parked in lots and boarded buses for drop-off at the race site. At St. Olaf, the cross-country course was not fenced so no tickets were sold. Bolstad is surrounded by fencing so tickets have been sold there, resulting in a revenue stream to help offset the costs of the event.
It’s a certainty that the Minnesota State High School League will look to secure a new cross-country site that allows for ticket sales. Those things – parking, roominess for runners and fans, ticketing – will be among the factors in that decision.
Softball appears to be set with state quarterfinal, semifinal and consolation games in North Mankato and championship games at the U of M. Cross-country will find a new site for the 2026 championships. That will not, however, be the end of possible tournament venue changes because another possible impact player will soon be part of the possibilities.
At the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, the new Lee & Penny Anderson Arena is almost ready to host games, with seating capacities of 5,000 for basketball and 4,000 for hockey. The arena will officially open on Oct. 24 when the St. Thomas men’s and women’s hockey teams host Providence. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will play their first games in the arena on Nov. 8, facing Army.
The new St. Thomas arena will be a first-class home for the Tommies. It will almost certainly host regular-season high school games in hockey and basketball, and it could also become a state tournament venue.
St. Thomas is not a perfect place, based on limited parking and access to the campus, which sits in a leafy neighborhood. If, say, state tournaments in basketball, volleyball or hockey were held there, the parking issue would have to be addressed, possibly with shuttle buses from outlying lots.
If St. Thomas is smart, they will offer their facilities to the MSHSL rent-free. That doesn’t mean free ushers, ticket takers, security, cleaning crews, etc. It just means rent-free. That is already the case with U.S. Bank Stadium, which hosts state semifinals and championship games in girls and boys soccer and football.
When the stadium was proposed, legislation at the state Capitol spelled out that the building would be offered to the MSHSL for those sports “at no cost.” When the Metrodome sat on the same site and hosted the same tournaments, the wording in the legislation was that the MSHSL could use the Dome “rent-free.”
Rent-free sounds nice, but the Metrodome charged for those services mentioned above: ushers, ticket takers, security, cleaning crews, etc. I was told that the bill for those things meant the MSHSL paid the Metrodome around $250,000 per year to host soccer and football. With U.S. Bank Stadium, that dollar amount is zero.
I don’t know if St. Thomas will offer its arena at zero cost, but the university administration would be smart to think more about campus visitors and media attention than dollars. That could mean some events may move away from the other Division I university in the Twin Cities. The most important thing is what’s best for the kids, the fans and the sports.
A lot of important decisions will be made. And to quote a native Minnesotan, the times they are a-changin’.
--John Millea is a veteran journalist based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Contact him at john.millea@ymail.com and follow him on Bluesky and X @MinnesotaMillea