FARGO — Thousands of hockey fans flock to the area for the NCAA Regional Hockey Tournament.
That means new faces exploring everything our area has to offer. More than 5,000 hockey fans gathered at the Scheels Arena for the NCAA Fargo Regional Tournament. Many of them are still here and will be here for the rest of the weekend. The question now is, what is there to do here?
“That’s the beauty of the Fargo-Moorhead, West Fargo area, there’s something for everyone,” said Kali Mork, athletic director of the Fargo-Moorhead Athletic Commission.
If it’s your first time in the area, you’ll probably be surprised at what’s happening here. When you get hungry, visit some of the 400 bars and restaurants in the area.
“(The) bar scene is great. We went to Spicy Pie yesterday and got pizza. Otherwise, we’ll look at a few others tonight. There’s a lot to choose from,” said Jack Poehling, a fan of St. Cloud State hockey.
Fancy shopping? Visit West Acres Mall.
“I have never been to a mall with so many shops. It’s really a cool place here,” said husky hockey fan David Zevnik.
You can even get some swings at Suite Shots in South Fargo. If you’re a movie buff, visit the Fargo Film Festival downtown or snap a photo with the wood chipper used in the movie “Fargo” at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center.
“Whatever you want to do, I guarantee you can find something around town, and one great resource is actually our website, which is FargoMoorhead.org,” Mork said.
With three schools in the tournament coming from our neighbors next door, this weekend is expected to bring in nearly $700,000 in visitor spending.
“For example, in 2022, events that our office actually partnered with (which isn’t every event) raised nearly $31 million for the city last year. So with numbers that big, everyone benefits,” Mork said.
Hotels in the area are seeing some of the biggest impact this weekend.
“We have sold out nights all weekend now that we have winning teams and now they are staying longer. So this is a big deal for us,” said Cristina McCoy, Director of Sales, KAJ Hospitality.
Former husky hockey stars making the trip this year don’t have the fondest memories of Fargo losing to AIC in the first round of the regional tournament at the Scheels Arena in 2019. But they hope this trip goes a little better.
“We’re going to the rodeo tonight. Will Borgen has his bull there tonight. It’s going to be great,” said Poehling.
St. Cloud State University meets the University of Minnesota on Saturday, March 25 at 5:30 p.m. for the final game of the weekend at the Scheels Arena.
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