Should U.S. Hockey Hall’s home be on the Iron Range, or in St. Paul?
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Should the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum continue to be located in the tiny Iron Range town of Eveleth, hometown to a long list of U.S. hockey greats, where it was built more than 50 years ago?
Or should it be relocated to St. Paul, to become part of a proposed hockey-themed redevelopment project around the Xcel Energy Center, where tens of thousands of hockey fans attending Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Frost games could visit?
Leaders of the museum are wrestling with that question. And it’s caused an emotional rift between board members and state lawmakers who believe the museum should remain in one of the birthplaces of hockey in the U.S., and those who believe a move should be explored, to make that rich history visible to more people.
“What we’re really looking at is an opportunity here to collaborate on a project that’s going to be of significant size and scope, where we have an opportunity … to engage in that process in good faith and see where it takes us,” said Mitch Brunfelt, an attorney from Aurora and a longtime museum board member.
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While discussions between the Minnesota Wild and the museum board have been going on for more than a year, they only recently came to light publicly. State Sen. Rob Farnsworth, R-Hibbing, said he was outraged to learn the museum may move.
“Here we go again,” he said, “Trying to take something from the Iron Range. It’s an important part of our culture, of our heritage here. I want it to stay.”
Rich hockey legacy
The Hockey Hall of Fame was built in Eveleth in 1973, about a three-hour drive north of the Twin Cities. Its construction resulted from an intense lobbying effort from local leaders whose names are enshrined on a plaque in the museum lobby.
“It really came down to Boston and Eveleth. And they chose Eveleth. Simply because of the history in this town,” said executive director Doug Palazzari.
Eveleth, population 3,400, has produced some of the most legendary names in U.S. hockey, the descendants of immigrants who moved to the Iron Range to work in the region’s mines.
In 1956, Eveleth native John Mariucci coached the U.S. team to an Olympic silver medal, and later coached for over a decade at the University of Minnesota. That Olympic team also featured three players from Eveleth, including John Mayasich, who won gold in 1960, and Willard Ikola, who went on to win eight state titles as head coach at Edina High School.
There’s also Frank Brimsek, one of the greatest American goaltenders of all time, nicknamed “Mr. Zero”; Mike Karakas, the first American goalie to win a Stanley Cup; and Mark Pavelich, a member of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team that won a gold medal in 1980, and the first U.S. player to score five goals in a professional game.
They’re all included on the Wall of Fame at the center of the museum.
“There’s more people from Eveleth on this wall than any other town,” said Palazzari. “This is really one of the birthplaces of hockey in the United States.”
Palazzari himself is a member of the Hall of Fame. He played professionally for eight years in the St. Louis Blues organization. And he’s served as the museum’s executive director for the past 15.
He proudly led a tour of the museum’s three floors, pointing out historic photos and jerseys and displays of early, primitive hockey equipment. Exhibits have been added in recent years to recognize women’s and paralympic hockey.
The collection also includes one of the first Zambonis ever made, an old outdoor rink warming shack, and a retro scoreboard used in the filming of the movie “The Mighty Ducks.”
“We’re here to honor the inductees, and to educate people on some of the history,” said Palazzari. “You can only do so much, but I think we have a good mix.”
The museum opened in 1973, but since then it’s struggled to draw hockey fans up north. Annual attendance averages about 9,000, a fraction of the people who visit the halls of fame of other major sports leagues.
Over the years it’s had to close a few times because of financial troubles, most recently in 2007, when USA Hockey stepped in to help save the facility. It now survives largely through state grants, including an annual $100,000 contribution from the Minnesota Historical Society, and tax revenue from local mining companies.
Last year the Minnesota Wild approached the museum’s board about moving it to St. Paul, as part of a proposed hockey-themed redevelopment of the Xcel Energy Center and the surrounding area.
“It’s going to make St. Paul into a hockey mecca, I think, in the United States,” said Brunfelt. “And so that’s why they presented the idea to us to potentially collaborate on this.”
The City of St. Paul and the Wild are asking state legislators for just shy of $400 million to help fund the project.
Brunfelt, a former Iron Range mayor and Eveleth city attorney, said any move to St. Paul would have to include investments in Eveleth to boost tourism and economic development, including possible updates to the plaza hosting “the Big Stick,” a 5-ton, 110-foot tall stick on display in downtown Eveleth.
“I think this is an opportunity that we have to look at,” Brunfelt said.
“Over the course of its existence, the hall just has not developed a great track record of drawing hockey fans to go there. And unfortunately, the facility and the visitor experience has not been improved or updated in many, many years.”
But other board members from the Iron Range are fighting to keep the hall home. Bob Pazelli acknowledges a St. Paul museum would draw more people.
“But I don’t see the football Hall of Fame in Canton moving to Dallas,” he said. “Would they draw more people there? Absolutely. Would everything be new and shiny? Sure, it would, but it’s staying in Canton, and we strongly believe it should stay right here where it belongs in Eveleth.”
Cal Cossalter, another board member and former Eveleth mayor who played on the University of Minnesota 1974 championship team coached by Herb Brooks, said the town recently lost its grocery store and school.
“Things just keep disappearing. So to have something like this disappear, all of a sudden, you’re losing 9000 people. That’s three times the population of Eveleth,” he said.
Fighting for history
Cossalter and other supporters of keeping the museum in Eveleth agree its vintage exhibits need updating. But instead of moving it, they advocate for investments to upgrade the facility
“Rather than moving it in a short-sighted way to try to get more foot traffic, why don’t we think about ways to enhance it and try to attract people there?” argued state Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, whose district includes part of the Iron Range.
Hauschild said he is drafting a resolution in the Senate to oppose the move. “Obviously, that would be more symbolic than anything, but I do think it would be a statement,” he said.
He also wants to ensure state funding isn’t used to help move the museum.
Board member Mitch Brunfelt said he and others have pushed for years to develop a strategic plan to modernize the facility. But he said nothing’s happened.
“Where have these elected officials been over the last 10 to 20 years? Nowhere. And I’ll guarantee you very few of them have ever even been to the hall,” he said.
Brunfelt said compared to modern museum standards, the hockey hall is “in pretty rough shape.”
State Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, the chair of the museum board, said discussions of a possible move of the Hall of Fame museum are ongoing.
“We anticipate that the process will take several months,” said Housley, whose husband, Phil, played 21 years in the National Hockey League and was inducted into the hall in 2005.
But board members who support keeping the museum in Eveleth are hoping for a decision in the next month or so.
Any changes would require a majority vote of the museum board of directors.
Pazelli said he’s proud of the effort of Eveleth city leaders 50 years ago to bring the museum to the Iron Range.
“And that’s why we're fighting so hard to keep our history here.”