- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Address: 1401 Clark Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri
- Capacity: 19,150 (hockey)
- Year Opened: 1994
- Former Name: Kiel Center, Savvis Center, Scottrade Center
- Occupants: St. Louis Blues
The Scottrade Center was built in 1994 on the site of the old Kiel Auditorium and nearly two decades later, the arena is widely-considered one of the best sporting and entertainment venues in the country. As home to the NHL's St. Louis Blues, the building boasts a seating capacity of 19,150 seats and easy access from area highways, the Bi-State bus system and St. Louis' light rail system. Located in the heart of downtown St. Louis, there's no shortage of bars, restaurants and shopping opportunities for sports fans and concert goers who are looking to kill a little time before the event. Along with its many banners and concourses decked out in blue and yellow, the Scottrade Center is known for playing "When the Saints Come Marching In, " after each Blues goal - a tradition since the team's inception.
The St. Louis Blues were one of six expansion teams in 1967 when the NHL decided to double its number of teams. The Blues lured future Hall of Famer Dickie Moore out of retirement to show the young bucks the ropes. The Blues were the biggest surprise of the 1967-68 season, flying past the Philadelphia Flyers and the Minnesota North Stars in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Unfortunately, the Blues had to go up against the legendary Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals - the team gave them all they could handle, but they were swept in four games.
In recent years, the Blues have been a consistently competitive team that has seen Hall of Famers like Brett Hull, Joe Mullen, Wayne Gretzky and Bernie Federko don the blue and yellow. The Blues were able to make it to the conference finals during the 2000-01 season. With the stellar play of Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and Keith Tkachuk, the Blues cruised through the first two rounds. In their first trip to the conference finals in 15 years, the Blues played inspired hockey, but couldn't overcome the red hot Colorado Avalanche and lost the series in five games.
The Blues are tribute to St. Louis' rich music tradition, and the Scottrade Center has played a large role in attracting top-tier talent. Blockbuster tours such as The Police's Reunion Tour, Bruce Springsteen's Magic Tour and Elton John and Billy Joel's Face to Face tour all played the big stage at the Scottrade Center. All in all, if fans are attending an event at the Scottrade Center, they won't leave disappointed!