The arena's major tenant is the University of North Dakota football team, and also hosts many large concerts, sporting events, and trade shows.

Located southwest of the UND campus, it is just east of Interstate 29 and south of its exit 140, the junction with state highway 297.

Other events have also been held at Alerus Center including WWE Smackdown, Toughest Monster Truck Tour, and the 2008 North Dakota Democratic-NPL Convention featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speaking.

To a lesser extent, the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks also sometimes competes for these same events as well.

Regionally, the Fargodome in nearby Fargo and the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba are seen as competitors to Alerus Center.

[15] The Destination Center also includes the largest waterpark in the state, three restaurants, a "boutique" casino, and an arcade.