Wells Fargo Arena evacuated for 20 minutes at halftime of ELC-Cherokee 3A game

DES MOINES — How did the Estherville-Lincoln Central girls’ basketball players spend part of their halftime break?

“We were out by the skate park (across the street from Wells Fargo Arena),” Rylee Yager said. “There were a few skaters out there, and it was fun watching them, but we had to stay locked in.”

Wells Fargo was evacuated for about 20 minutes Monday night. The reason was believed to be a ventilation issue with one of the concession stands in the arena.

“There’s some confusion as to what happened,” IGHSAU executive director Erin Gerlich said. “We believe the alarm was automatically tripped. There doesn’t appear to have been a visible fire.

“The Des Moines Fire Department was here quickly to make sure we were all clear.”

The incident happened around 7:20 p.m., at halftime of the ELC-Cherokee 3A quarterfinal.

“We were in the locker room, and we were told to get out,” ELC Coach Don Martindale said. “We went out the northwest entrance and stood out there, 20-25 minutes.

“Thankfully, it was a warm, early-spring night.”

The halftime entertainment was a matchup of eighth-grade teams. A taped message, with a siren, urging immediate evacuation, went off.

“It was really eerie,” Gerlich said. “The siren ... I thought the disc jockey found something for music.”

After the all-clear, officials and coaches agreed on a 12-minute warmup. Then the game resumed.

ELC turned a 27-14 halftime lead into a 60-33 victory. The sixth-ranked Midgets (21-3) will face No. 1 Mount Vernon (24-1) in a 3A semifinal at 1:30 Thursday afternoon.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com