Named to honor the World War II veterans of Polk County, it opened on February 1, 1955.

Commonly known as "Vets" or "The Barn," it was the long-time host for minor league basketball, arena football, Iowa high school basketball and wrestling tournaments, and high school graduations.

Prior to the opening of Wells Fargo Arena, Vets Auditorium had served as the primary venue of sporting events and concerts in the Des Moines area for many years; this was also the site of the January 20, 1982 concert in which Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat.

It was also the site of the 1989 steel cage match between Hulk Hogan and Big Boss Man on Saturday Night's Main Event XXI.

In the fall of 2010, it was closed and renovated into a state-of-the-art convention facility that added a 28,800-square-foot ballroom to the Iowa Events Center in addition to 25 new meeting rooms.