If it is possible to describe the $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena in just a few words, but it is described by many as the finest  facility of its kind in the world.

Fighting Sioux fans see the Ralph as a dream come true. A dream that started for all Sioux fans in December 1998, when alumnus and Las Vegas businessman Ralph Engelstad announced that he would donate $100 million to the University of North Dakota and use the bulk of the money to build the best possible hockey arena for his former team, the Fighting Sioux. A former Sioux goalie, Engelstad had been such a tremendous supporter of the team and the University of North Dakota for nearly half a century.

Engelstad started the dream by putting together a small group to visit the top hockey facilities in the world. The group included former UND President, Thomas J. Clifford, Reggie Morelli, former standout Sioux player and Minot businessman, Executive Vice President of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation, Earl Strinden, UND head hockey coach, Dean Blais, architects, Jim Kobetsky and Bill Schoen of Schoen Associates, and the former arena General Manager, Todd Berning.

Tapping into his construction know-how, Ralph had a hand in almost all major decisions in the building and brought a lot to the table in the same aspect. One of the things Engelstad brought to the building project was a long-range view of the building process which he had mastered in his business days building housing developments and the Imperial Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The team announced a very ambitious time schedule which contributed to the uniqueness of the project. Builders were carpeting one end of the arena while the other end was putting up the steel beams. The groundbreaking started in November of 1999 with an October 5, 2001 deadline. Over 2,500 workers, mainly from North Dakota were hired to build the arena. The construction of the arena moved very quickly and smoothly due in large part to Ralph’s ability to communicate with the builders and contractors, often speaking with the contractors on the phone several times a day.

Ralph’s goal was to construct not just a first class hockey facility, but to construct an arena where fans would have the “experience of a lifetime.” Every idea that went into the designing of the arena was to ultimately heighten the fan’s experience at the Ralph.

Ralph had a hand in everything that went into the arena from the acoustics to the Zamoboni and everything in between.

For Ralph Engelstad, the arena is a gift to his alma mater, his former team, North Dakota and the surrounding region.

For Sioux fans, the hockey team, and the University of North Dakota you might say it is a dream come true.