Venue: Xcel Energy Center
Attendees: 3,000
Caterer: Wildside Caterers
Event Planner: Best Buy
Facility Management Company: Saint Paul Arena Company
Production Companies: Media Loft and Skyway Event
Services
For the Best Buy Charity Classic—which benefited the Best Buy
Children’s Foundation—Wildside Catering, the St. Paul Arena Company, and Skyway
Event Services turned a hockey arena into a massive yet elegant multi-tiered
ballroom. Rather than renting a dining room to accommodate 3,000, the event’s
planners executed a bold plan—erecting platforms for dining tables over the
stadium seating at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The main entertainment for the evening—nationally known country-music artist Keith Urban—motivated the choice of venue. “The acoustics in the Xcel Energy Center are so much better than a ballroom, that we decided to bring the ballroom to the acoustics,” says Keith Reardon, general manager of Wildside Caterers. “We created a three-tiered ballroom in a horseshoe shape around the stage out of scaffolding and decking that covered the stadium seating. This created 10 intimate dining areas that each seated 300 to 900 guests. This was a challenging endeavor. It had never been done before, and it was down to the wire as to whether or not we would meet the fire code.”
The evening began with a silent auction during a cocktail reception in the St. Paul River Centre. Then, Wildside Caterers served a sit-down dinner for 3,000 guests; a live auction took place during the meal. Finally, the evening came to an exciting close with Keith Urban’s 45-minute concert.
