Step Inside: St. Louis’ Enterprise Center

The 12-story, glass-enclosed Enterprise Center glimmers proudly in the heart of downtown St. Louis as the city’s premier center for sports and entertainment. The arena keeps a busy schedule, hosting an average of 175 events annually, including hockey and basketball games, indoor soccer matches, NCAA championships, professional wrestling bouts, big-name concerts, family shows and on-ice extravaganzas. 

But it undoubtedly brings in the loudest and rowdiest fans this side of the Mississippi for the NHL’s St. Louis Blues home games, which see crowds of over 18,000 cheering on their 2019 Stanley Cup champions. The nine-second foghorn blast following every Blues goal kicks up the decibels even more. Speaking of, a state-of-the-art sound system also packs a punch when the world’s biggest artists in pop, rock, hip-hop and Christian music make a stop here. It’s why the Enterprise Center remains one of St. Louis’ top destinations.

Enterprise Center History

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After the 60-year-old Kiel Auditorium was torn down in 1992, development of a new arena quickly got underway. It had quite a reputation to uphold — the Kiel Auditorium had been St. Louis’ pride and joy, seeing performances from stars as iconic as Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley and The Supremes. The new arena took only 22 months to build, and on October 8, 1994, the Kiel Center officially opened with a weekend of sports and entertainment events. A week later, Billy Joel christened its concert stage, followed another week later by one of the last shows ever performed by Frank Sinatra. 

Indoor soccer team the St. Louis Ambush was the first to play in the new Kiel Center, but ever since the Blues debuted here in January 1995, it’s been most lovingly referred to as “The House That Brett Hull Built.” Hull, an NHL Hall of Fame sniper, played for the Blues from 1988 to 1998, and holds numerous records for the franchise. In fact, he scored his 500th goal here in December 1996. Later on, he took on the role of executive vice president for the Blues and was there for their first ever Stanley Cup win in 2019.

Over the years, the Enterprise Center — also known as the Savvis Center from 2000 to 2006 and the Scottrade Center from 2006 to 2018 — has been home to other local teams including the NCAA’s Saint Louis Billikens men’s basketball team and the professional roller hockey team the St. Louis Vipers. 

As a major sports and entertainment venue, the Enterprise Center has beefed up its state-of-the-art facilities in recent years with a renovation project completed in 2019 that included a new sound system, a video board, sports lighting, theater boxes and a beer garden.

Enterprise Center Events

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Along with being the home of the St. Louis Blues, who brought the Stanley Cup Finals here in 2019, the Enterprise Center has hosted the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, the Women’s Final Four, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the 2020 NHL All-Star Game and many other national sporting events. It’s also seen its fair share of memorable WWE pro wrestling moments during Monday Night Raw, Smackdown, and several other televised and pay-per-view events. 

When athletes aren’t showing off their world-class skills, major music stars are filling the arena with their sweet sounds and innovative visuals. Artists like Post Malone, Tool, Celine Dion, Jonas Brothers, Ariana Grande, Drake and plenty more have pushed the Enterprise Center’s capacity — and sound system — with some monumental performances.

Enterprise Center Food & Concessions

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An outing at the Enterprise Center is never complete without some quality grub, and the food and drink selections are up there with the best in all of St. Louis. The arena has teamed with many of the city’s finest chefs and restaurants to offer both classic stadium eats and gourmet treats. 

Farmtruk, a local favorite food truck, serves up grass-fed burgers, street tacos, and brisket mac and cheese, while Sugarfire Smoke House offers award-winning, finger-licking St. Louis–style barbecue. Head to Byrd & Barrel for gourmet fried chicken or Kohn’s Kosher for stuffed deli sandwiches. After all that, make sure you save room for Hi-Pointe Drive-In’s hand-spun milkshakes, before grabbing a Bud at the Anheuser-Busch Biergarten.