The ECAC Championships are moving...

[bothman]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Folks could've walked a block or two down Pearl Street to find more than enough places to go to. Lark Street is straight up Madison Avenue, a very cheap cab ride away from the arena.

Again, people's crappy perceptions of Albany came from them either being poor planners and staying in hotels too far away from downtown to be manageable or folks being too foolish to not ask the numerous locals on this board or do some google exploring themselves to make it worthwhile.

The last couple of years I've spent time hanging with some of the Cornell folks that come in from different parts of the Northeast (NYC, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and Boston) and as far as I could tell they've had a great time in Albany. I'm not going to hog any credit for their good times had here as I know they've done their part in getting to know the area and where to go but I've also been able to make amiable suggestions to them for secondary spots when the main places get too busy.

It's not hard to have a good time in Albany but it is pretty easy for folks to sit and pout and whine and complain when they put zero effort into wanting to have a good time.

I don't point this rant at you Swami, but there's a host of others who myself and others went around the bend on this whole thing repeatedly that still, likely, have yet to learn a lesson about anything.

I love people who bash the people who come to a city to attend an event and than blast those people for not "finding" the hot spots etc.

Reminds me of companies that design products and when customers don't start buying them, their rationale is that the customers are just "too dumb to get it." This is classic stuff and is exactly why many companies fail and why events change locales.

For me, AC would not have been my first choice...but at least I know that the ECAC office is not some form of ponzi scheme. I was starting to wonder if anyone worked there.

[GreatLakerMohawk]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

For me, AC would not have been my first choice...but at least I know that the ECAC office is not some form of ponzi scheme. I was starting to wonder if anyone worked there.

You sure it's not a different ponzi scheme? The same company that runs the Times Union Center in Albany run Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. This was a "sweetheart" deal for Atlantic City courtesy of SMG.

And you're the last person who should comment on anything about the tournament because you're too busy in your ivory tower in California to ever come east.

[DavidSec17]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

That may be very true, but fun in proximity to an arena is very important. I think most visiting fans, once they get to city, tend to judge a tourney primarily by the food and drink amenities surrounding the arena, as well as the 'festive feeling' that cities either try (or don't try) to enable - street banners, activities, volunteers, waiters that know what college hockey is, etc.

Going 'a couple miles away' to find a sense of event/fun is seen as something of a downer, when compared to places where the 'fun' is a short walk from the arena. People want to be "part of the event" and not have to go looking for it....

So then in AC I'll be able to strike up a conversation with a waiter or a blackjack dealer about college hockey ? How many waiters delivering wings and burgers to a bar crowd really know anything about college hockey?

Albany tried all that, closing off South Pearl Street, activities, music, etc. Why those activities wernt present last year I cant say.

There are several bars and resturants within a stones throw of the TUC. As GLM said, Lark Street is a short cab ride away.

Sorry if the city of Albany cant drop off a beer van and cook food right in the middle of South Pearl Street for those that find walking a few blocks after sitting on their rear ends for 6 hrs a "downer".....

I just dont understand what people want. I was in DC and Denver for Frozen Fours. Drove to Baltimore for a ball game. Walked the mall in DC on the Friday off day... Miles from our hotel and the arena....Such a downer. ..

[FireKnight]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

I'd probably go pretty much anywhere if Clarkson is in the tournament but when the tournament was in Albany, I went regardless (unless my work schedule messed things up). The difference with AC is that it's not a manageable ride, so the ECAC just added a hotel cost to my weekend so you probably won't see me there unless Clarkson is there.

The decision is definitely curious on many fronts.

[ChinaHockey]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

AC is a poor choice, I think it should be in a hockey town. For so many reasons I would love to see it at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

[Wardy]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Exit 100 refugee here.

As a HEA outsider and having followed the Albany complaints for the last 8 years I don't see this not working "better" than Albany (as some have pointed out the bar isn't set very high). Anybody staying at a casino hotel will be within walking distance of the arena and in March there are plenty of cheap hotel/motel chain hotels in Absecon and Pleasantville. And as mentioned as long as you stay within Pacific Ave (2 long blocks in from the boardwalk) you're fine which isn't much different from most cities. While March isn't summer beach time a drive down Ocean Drive to Cape May or Stone Harbor isn't a bad way to have a relaxing weekend either.

As for interest this tournament placement does open things up for college hockey fans anywhere between NYC and Northern Virginia. Even as a HEA fan I'd go to this tournament if UMass isn't in Boston and I know I'm not alone.

Marketing: Easy since AC's loyalties tend to be 60% Philly, 30% North NJ/NY, and 10% other I target Philly which is now without the low-cost Phantoms now headed to Glens Falls and I start with a billboard ad on one of the 20 boards adjacent to the Walt Whitman Bridge. I'd also put ads in the game programs for the Flyers, Devils, Rangers, Islanders, and even the Captials.

[Saints17]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Atlantic City? Ouch....not a good move for the ECAC. One team benefits from this out of the 12 team league.
Apparently the TUC has plans for NCAA basketball in the next few years so our league gets the boot.
I feel like Dr.Evil when I ask,"Honestly this is the best you can come up with?".
Yet again another bad move by the league, first Albany then this debacle.

[ServinisScores]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

leave it to the ECAC to find a town that's a bigger dump than Albany. Jeez! What's next, Teaneck?

[hockeyplayer1015]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

I'm willing to atleast give this a chance, but like the thread previously, there really aren't too many lucrative options that are realistic. It will be interesting to see if AC can take this and run with it, and make it a pleasant event.

[Red Cloud]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

AC is a poor choice, I think it should be in a hockey town. For so many reasons I would love to see it at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Well I want it on the moon.

[Kitten at QU]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Allow me to be the stereotypical Jersey Girl (Exit 9) is is uber excited about the move to AC instead of being in Albany. I am more than game for any team playing this the championship now instead of only traveling to Albany, maybe, if my Q-pac team made it.

The sheer logistics of it, besides whatever money was offered to the league by AC tourism bureau, are this:

1. Transportation; Bus and rail from all points in NJ, NYC and Philadelphia. That's five airports that can get to AC via mass transportation (LaGuardia, JFK, Philly, Newark, and AC airport).

2. Accomodations; Fine you don't want to stay at the casino. But the sheer number of hotels in the area is astronomically higher than Albany. Just do any hotels online search. Both in AC proper, and the surrounding towns.

3. Alt Entertainment; Casinos and shopping aside. There's House of Blues, Hard Rock, and other small venues that hold nightly concerts. It's not all gambling and shopping.


Sign me up for tickets.

[Brett Gobe]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Well I want it on the moon.

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[rpi82]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Huge story in the TU today on the loss of the tournament-buried on p. 3 of the sports section. Need I say more?

I doubt it was on page 1 of the Press of Atlantic City either. Their website's list of sports articles for Wednesday included a short story on the move. It was listed well after the girls volleyball round up and the fishing report. More importantly, it was accompanied by a sidebar entitled "What is ECAC Hockey." Need I say more?

[jmh]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

[Albany] could not shake the government town impression and it seems most people on this thread never ventured more than two blocks from the arena. Lark Street and other areas within a cuple of miles had restaruants, clubs and other amenities.

This.

[Jasma]

Re: The ECAC Championships are moving...

Exit 100 refugee here.

As a HEA outsider and having followed the Albany complaints for the last 8 years I don't see this not working "better" than Albany (as some have pointed out the bar isn't set very high). Anybody staying at a casino hotel will be within walking distance of the arena and in March there are plenty of cheap hotel/motel chain hotels in Absecon and Pleasantville. And as mentioned as long as you stay within Pacific Ave (2 long blocks in from the boardwalk) you're fine which isn't much different from most cities. While March isn't summer beach time a drive down Ocean Drive to Cape May or Stone Harbor isn't a bad way to have a relaxing weekend either.

As for interest this tournament placement does open things up for college hockey fans anywhere between NYC and Northern Virginia. Even as a HEA fan I'd go to this tournament if UMass isn't in Boston and I know I'm not alone.

Marketing: Easy since AC's loyalties tend to be 60% Philly, 30% North NJ/NY, and 10% other I target Philly which is now without the low-cost Phantoms now headed to Glens Falls and I start with a billboard ad on one of the 20 boards adjacent to the Walt Whitman Bridge. I'd also put ads in the game programs for the Flyers, Devils, Rangers, Islanders, and even the Captials.

Your marketing ideas are good. You could add buying time on some radio sports talk shows as well. Too bad the ECAC, the arena and the city didn't do much of that when the tournament was in Albany.