Siinto S. Wessman Arena
The Home of Yellowjacket Hockey
 
 
 

"I was fortunate enough to play hockey for UW-Superior when Wessman Arena was new.  With the new updates to the team locker rooms, weight training and health training areas, it looks as good today as it did when it was built.  Any player looking for a great facility and university would be foolish to not consider playing in the finest Division III arena in the west, much less the country."

--Tom Doig, Class of 1980 

For several years, the Yellowjacket hockey team called the ice of the Superior Municipal Ice Arena their home.  Then in the late 1960's, the university decided the time was right to build an on-campus ice arena.  The state-of-the-art facility, known as Siinto S. Wessman Arena, was completed in time for the 1970-71 season.  It opened on November 15, 1970, when the University of Wisconsin Badgers came to Superior to play the first game in the facility against the Yellowjackets.  The Badgers won the game 13-1, the first of hundreds of games to be played at the 'Jackets new home.

Wessman Arena is a year-round multi-purpose facility.  In addition to hockey, car shows, trade shows, concerts, wedding receptions and graduation ceremonies are among the events held there when the ice is out.  When the ice is in, Superior Senior High School and the Superior Figure Skating Club call the arena home.  But it is still Yellowjacket Hockey that makes people come through the doors.

Among those games are the two NCHA regular season titles (1994, 2001) and the three NCHA playoff titles (1994, 1997, 2001) that were clinched on home ice.  There have also been three Division III Final Fours (1994, 2000, 2007) played at Wessman Arena.  Middlebury College is the only school to host more Final Fours at the Division III level.

NCAA Championships

1994: UW-Superior, UW-River Falls, Salem State, Fredonia State
Semifinals: UW-River Falls 4  Fredonia State 3; UW-Superior 3  Salem State 2 (OT)
3rd Place: Fredonia State 7  Salem State 4
Championship: UW-River Falls 6  UW-Superior 4

2000: UW-Superior, St. Thomas, Plattsburgh State, Norwich
Semifinals: Norwich 5  UW-Superior 4 (OT); St. Thomas 7  Plattsburgh 1
3rd Place: Plattsburgh State 2  UW-Superior 0
Championship: Norwich 2  St. Thomas 1

2007: St. Norbert, Middlebury, Oswego State, Manhattanville
Semifinals: Oswego State 4  St. Norbert 3 (OT); Middlebury 3  Manhattanville 2
Championship: Oswego State 4  Middlebury 3 (OT)


     
Locker Room  Weight Room Training Room

In recent years, Wessman Arena has undergone multiple renovations.  In 2003, a new refrigeration system, dasher board system and floor were installed.  This process made the ice rink slightly larger than it was in the past.  In 2006, a new ice resurfacer and a new sound system were purchased.  An addition to the building was completed in 2007, providing a new athletic training room, workout room and two new dressing rooms, at a cost of just over $1 million for the project.  The locker rooms brought the facility four full-size dressing rooms, and once again opened the door to NCAA competition to be held there.  The new, state-of-the-art  locker rooms will be utilized by the Yellowjacket men's and women's hockey teams, while the old dressing rooms will be used by Superior High School and visiting teams that come in.  In 2009, a new lighting system was installed in the building, replacing the system that originally came with the building.

Wessman Arena may be 40-years-old, but it is still among the finest facilities in all of Division III hockey.
 
Building Facts

Constructed: 1969-1970
Cost of Construction: $1,312,240
Seating Capacity: 1,562 (does not include standing room)
Ice Sheet: 195' x 87'
Dressing Rooms: 4
First Game: November 15, 1970 vs. University of Wisconsin

Facility Manager: Steve Kirk
Address: 2701 Catlin Avenue, Superior, WI  54880
Contact: (715) 394-8361
 
Directions

From Minnesota (via Bong Bridge)
At the first stop light when you get off the bridge, turn left onto Belknap Street.  Stay on Belknap until you reach Catlin Avenue (6th stop light).  Turn right onto Catlin Avenue, drive through campus.  The arena will be on your right at the end of the street.

Alternate Route: At the first stop light when you get off the bridge, turn left onto Belknap Street.  Stay on Belknap until you reach Tower Avenue (2nd stop light).  Turn right onto Tower.  Stay on Tower for approximately 1 mile until you reach North 28th Street (2nd stop light).  Turn left onto North 28th Street and go approximately 1 mile until you reach Catlin Avenue.  Turn left onto Catlin Avenue and the arena is immediately on your left.

From Minnesota (via Blatnick Bridge)
As you come off the bridge you will be on Hammond Avenue.  Stay on Hammond until you reach the second stop light (Belknap Street). Turn left on Belknap.  Take Belknap to Catlin Avenue (2nd stop light).  Turn right onto Catlin Avenue, drive through campus.  The arena will be on your right at the end of the street.

Alternate Route: As you come off the bridge you will be on Hammond Avenue.  Stay on Hammond for approximately 2 miles.  Turn left on North 28th Street (3rd stop light).  Stay on this road for a half mile.  Turn left onto Catlin Avenue.  The arena is immediately on your left.

From Wisconsin (via US 53/US 2)
Enter Superior on US 53/US 2.  Turn left onto 18th Avenue East, which will turn into North 28th Street.  Stay on this road for about 1.5 miles.  Turn right onto Catlin Avenue.  The arena is immediately on your left.