MET CENTER MEETS THE WRECKING BALL

     Bloomington, MN's Metropolitan Sports Center, longtime home
to the former-Minnesota North Stars, was scheduled for demolition
this morning.  The building was built in 1967  for the NHL's
North Stars inaugural year in the Twin Cities, but was "doomed"
after the North Stars 1993 move to Dallas and the construction of
the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.  The land around the
building, adjacent to the Mall of America, will be used for
parking in the short term, but there is speculation the site
could someday be used for another "shopping complex or a massive
hotel" (Jerry Zgoda, Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 12/12).