After many years of events and memories taking place in one building, it was definitely time for something new. Veterans Auditorium (also known as “The Barn”), located in Des Moines, opened its doors in February of 1955 and hosted many sporting events, conventions, concerts, and much more. Fifty years later, though, they wanted a change.

So where would some of these events go to the following year, you may ask?

Wells Fargo Arena (WFA) is your answer, which opened in July 2005.

The WFA, which neighbors Vets, takes on most of Vets’ old responsibilities, including some of the bigger sporting events that have taken place in the past month: high school state wrestling, girls’ state basketball, the Iowa Stars hockey team, and most recently, the boys’ state basketball tournament.

Even though Vets is still open for conventions, WFA is used for much more. WFA holds as many as 17,000 guests for sporting events and concerts. It includes The Principal River’s Edge, which houses a 180 seat restaurant, 36 corporate suites, 20 loge boxes, and 600 club seats offering the finest in fan amenities. The building itself is considered a venue unlike any other in the Midwest.

Within the past month, thousands of people have experienced the new facility, but some of those people have not really enjoyed the place they were in.

State wrestling went through many changes being in WFA compared to Vets and one of those changes that many didn’t liked was the seating. In past years at Vets, the fans were right down with the athletes on the floor, but that all changed. WFA is more of a hockey and basketball facility and not so much of a wrestling facility.

“I didn’t like how the fans weren’t right there and the warm-up facilities,” stated four-time state wrestling qualifier Grant Ruge, Sr. But he did comment that he liked the restrooms and the larger locker rooms.

When asked how WFA improved state wrestling, Alan Beste, Assistant Executive Director of the IHSAA (Iowa High School Athletic Association) stated, “It improved the flow of traffic on and off the floor.”

Some things that Beste like about the building was the spectator seats, the wide concourses and the concession stands, which have more of a variety of foods.

But, along with him and some wrestlers they believe they need to revisit the weigh-in and warm-up areas.

“There were things that changed and there were little things you had to adapt too,” Ruge commented on being in a different building.

“I’m sure some of the spectators missed being on the floor. Coaches, wrestlers and spectators may have missed the nostalgia of being in Vet’s, but Wells Fargo Arena will develop its own character over time,” Beste stated.

So next time you’re bored on the weekend just travel down to Des Moines and hit a concert, game or convention in the WFA, it is something new and you definitely won’t miss out.