VETERANS MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM

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Drake Bulldogs (NCAA) (1957-1992) Des Moines Dragons (IBA) (1997–2001) Iowa Barnstormers AFL (1995-2001) Arena Football League All Star Game (1993)

Veterans Memorial Auditorium (Vets Auditorium) is an arena in Des Moines, Iowa, that is part of the Iowa Events Center complex. It opened on February 1, 1955, and was named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County. It has 7,227 permanent seats, with the capacity to add an additional 4,000 seats for concerts and an additional 7,500 bleacher seats for basketball games.

The Vets was also the longtime home of the Iowa state high school basketball and wrestling tournaments until 2005. Vets Auditorium also hosted Drake University basketball games until 1992, when the Knapp Center opened, and the Des Moines Dragons professional basketball team from 1997 to 2001. In recent years, however, Vets began to show its age as newer and larger arenas were opening in other cities. The Barnstormers moved out because of the inadequacy of "The Barn" (as Vets was known during their games) and concert promoters began to bypass Des Moines for other cities.

Unused 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" standard size chrome postcard.

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