Frequently Asked Questions

What is the annual budget and size of the agency?

The MASC is one of the smaller state agencies, with a budget of $261,000 for 2011, supporting three staff members.

Does the MASC have regulatory or enforcement powers?

No, the MASC is an economic development agency. It does not have any regulatory authority over Minnesota sport associations, leagues or programs.

The MASC has helped to build hundreds of new facilities around the state. Does it directly operate any of these facilities?

The MASC retains direct oversight of one facility, the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine. All the other facilities the MASC has contributed funding toward are operated by other public agencies. For example the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud is owned and operated by St. Cloud State University. The John Rose Minnesota OVAL in Roseville is owned by the City of Roseville.

 

The NSC was always intended to be Minnesota’s flagship amateur sports facility; thus the continued oversight by the MASC.

The MASC’s enabling legislation directs it to manage an annual amateur sports festival. What is that?

That’s the Star of the North State Games, which is an annual multi-sport event that is held every year on the third and fourth weekends of June. This year’s event will be held in St. Cloud and will include 19 different sports. In recent years, the event has also been held in Rochester and St. Paul. The Star of the North Games typically draws 5,000 to 6,000 athletes.

What are some of the major championship events that the MASC has helped to attract and organize?

The MASC has directly bid for and managed some championship bid events, such as the 2001 Women’s World Hockey Championship or the 2011 ISI World Recreational Figure Skating Team Championship.

 

More commonly, the MASC plays a supporting and consulting role in assisting other groups and associations in bidding for and staging of major events. An example of this kind of model is the 2006 World Short Track Speedskating Championship at Mariucci Arena, which was organized by the Greater Minnesota Speedskating Association. The MASC staff supported that event by managing press operations.

How does the MASC make sure its funding is equitably distributed around the state?

All the major statewide grant programs managed by the MASC have had a policy that grants will be close to equally distributed by congressional district.

The MASC is proud of the leadership position it has taken in promoting the growth of girls’ and women’s sports. How has it done that?

One of the prime objectives of the Mighty Ducks Ice Arena Grant Program was to increase the inventory of ice sheets in Minnesota so girls and women’s ice programs (primarily hockey and figure skating) would have more prime-time access to ice time. The MASC has also created several female-only tournaments, including the All-American Girls and Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament and the Stick it to Cancer Hockey Tournament.