"If you build it, they will come!" The St Cloud Civic Center is already a destination for events large and small in the heart of downtown St Cloud MN. Nestled against the west bank of the Mississippi River between the new Highway 23 bridge and the Veterans Bridge (St. Germain) the Civic Center connects to the Kelly Inn and the Downtown Radisson and is walking distance to much of St Cloud's nightlife (entertainment venues).
Trade shows, conventions, training seminars, weddings, concerts and graduations all have come to the Civic Center. But few people know this facility also houses the Minnesota Ametuer Baseball Hall of Fame; many know that it is being expanded, hence the Field of Dreams reference. (I know the original quote from Shoeless Joe Jackson is "If you build it he will come", but it works). The Hall of Fame preserves some of the great moments in Minnesota's baseball history and if the state had an official sport I think it would be baseball. In every small town in the state, even if they have little else, they have a baseball field with bleachers.
This past year has seen the start of a major expansion, with the taking of an entire city block across the street. And so it goes, in the spirit of Ray Kinsella, St Cloud is doubling down, it is betting on its own future. The St Cloud Civic Center, a hub of business and transportation, centered in the great Minnesota, located on the mighty Mississippi, continues to thrive and grow and build and move forward.
So that end of town is a mess for the time being. But all of our bridges are open, thank goodness, so we'll deal. A little dust is the first sign of progress! (I kept on getting "progress" in my eyes while I was taking these pictures.)
I think the state Realtor Convention needs to make a stop in St Cloud in 2011. It is going to be beautiful by then!
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