Day 3 Departures

For teams who must fly to our event, we ask that your return trip not be scheduled before 6:30 pm on the final day of competition.  Final matches of the day may not begin until as late as 3:00 pm.  Championship matches generally begin at 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm.

Due to the high level of competition and the closeness in ability of teams playing on day 3, the play day can last until 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm (1-2 hours behind) for some courts by the end of the day.

Teams with flights earlier than 6:30 pm may risk forfeiting matches.

Teams are also still responsible for their officiating assignments before leaving.

Multiple Locations

In order to accommodate the large number of teams wishing to participate in the Mizuno Northern Lights Qualifier on the weekend of March 21-23,  we had to add an additional facility outside of the Minneapolis Convention Center.
The secondary facility is Midwest Volleyball Warehouse, one of the top volleyball only facilities in the United States.   It is located in Burnsville, Minnesota about 25 minutes south of the Convention Center.
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Midwest Volleyball Warehouse
14050 Judicial Road
Burnsville, MN 55337
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Courts 1 – 63 will be at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Courts 64 – 71 will be at Midwest Volleyball Warehouse. 

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The divisions participating at Midwest Volleyball Warehouse will be:

  • Friday AM wave – 12 USA
  • Friday PM wave – 14 USA
  • Saturday AM wave – 11 National (Division 1)  &  12 American (Division 1)
  • Saturday PM wave – 11 National (Division 2)  &  13 American (Division2)

(Division 1 generally means the top 1/2 after day 1, Division 2 is the bottom 1/2 after day 1)

Midwest Volleyball Warehouse will only be used on Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22. On Sunday all teams will be in the Minneapolis Convention Center.

This information was sent to all club directors with teams in the above Age Divisions on February 10.

General Information

Play will take place at the Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 2nd Ave South, Minneapolis, MN  55403.

Below are photos from past Northern Lights Qualifiers showing the general layout of courts:

For more extensive information from the Minneapolis Convention Center (including helpful info about the skyway), please follow this link.

Follow this link to find a full list of restaurants in the City of Minneapolis (always check status and hours before going to restaurant).

Prohibited Items

The list of prohibited items can be found here.

Travel & Transportation

Air

The Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) airport is a major national and international airport located approximately 20 minutes/14 miles southwest of the Minneapolis Convention Center.

For teams who must fly to our event, we ask that your return trip not be scheduled before 6:30 pm on Sunday.  Final matches of the day may not begin until as late as 3:00 pm.  Championship matches generally begin at 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm.

Due to the high level of competition and the closeness in ability of teams playing on day 3, the play day can last until 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm (1-2 hours behind) for some courts by the end of the day.

Teams with flights 6:00 pm or earlier may risk forfeiting matches.

Teams are also still responsible for their officiating assignments before leaving.

Light Rail

Minneapolis is equipped with two Light Rail Service lines.  One is located between Minneapolis and St. Paul while the other runs between the Mall of America (Airport) to Minneapolis (Target Field).  The closest Light Rail station to the Minneapolis Convention Center approximately 7-8 blocks away at 35 South Fifth Street near the Nicollet Mall.

More information about the Light Rail can be found here.

Cars/Parking

Conveniently located near the intersection of two interstates (35W and 94), getting into and out of the Minneapolis Convention Center area is quite easy and convenient.

Parking is abundant in the area around the Minneapolis Convention Center.  Parking and directions to the Minneapolis Convention Center can be found here.

Map of Area