U.S. Bank Stadium gave us the opportunity to secure bids to host Super Bowl LII and the 2019 Final Four even before its completion in 2016. The Timberwolves were obviously motivated by Target Center’s $150 million renovation, completed last year, as they keep playoff hopes alive. Our four time world champion Minnesota Lynx will welcome the WNBA’s elite to Target Center this summer for their All Star Game. And we are anxiously awaiting the completion of Allianz Field, the new home of the Minnesota United FC – slated to open next spring.

But in the midst of this building boom, we mustn’t forget the facility that has been here longer than any of the others, the Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC). And in spite of its name, the MCC is much more than a convention facility. This year it has hosted events such as the Super Bowl Experience, the Twin Cities Auto Show, the Midwest Poultry Federation, and the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration. Later this year we will see the National Education Association, the American Legion and the Society of Women Engineers at the MCC.

And the MCC continues to demonstrate its versatility by the announcement of Minneapolis’ selection as the site of the 2019 USA Taekwondo National Championships which will take place there next summer. (Read more here.) Nearly 4,000 competitors are expected to take part in the weeklong event. USA Taekwondo Events Director Jeanna Salgado noted that Minneapolis “has made huge improvements to its infrastructure and visitor attractiveness, and we know our athletes, coaches and parents are going to have a great week there.”

Jeanna is not the only non-convention event decision-maker who appreciates the MCC’s versatility. This weekend is the second half of the annual Northern Lights Qualifier, a USA Volleyball sanctioned event. USA Volleyball has been a frequent visitor to the MCC with events including its Girls’ Junior National Championship, most recently in 2017.

The MCC hosts between 350-400 events a year and nearly a million event attendees. You won’t see a basketball, football, baseball or soccer game there, but you can count on its continued versatility for years to come that will allow our community to host a plethora of events that won’t necessarily grab the headlines.