2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

[aparch]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

That would require a Bid!

Alaska, I'm looking at you!

You don't have to be an NCAA Div 1 Hockey school to put in a bid, do you? Ie: the Naval Academy and Washington DC. The CCHA (as a league) and the Detroit Sports Commission for Ford Field. The CHA (as a league) for St. Louis.

Work with some of the schools. Maybe have a California School host with the WCHA assisting?

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Alaska, I'm looking at you!

They might wanna look at a venue a little more closer to them. Seattle and Vancouver come to mind.... Seattle's Key Arena does have Ice, and well, GM Place in Canada would be pretty easy to fill with hockey fans.

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

If we want to take an occasional risk with nontraditional sites, to avoid falling into a rut, why not send the event back out West? No, I mean really West. Maybe someplace like HP Pavilion (San Jose)?

San Jose has been mentioned before, and I like the idea. I would say it is probably a better non-traditional location that Tampa is.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

They might wanna look at a venue a little more closer to them. Seattle and Vancouver come to mind.... Seattle's Key Arena does have Ice, and well, GM Place in Canada would be pretty easy to fill with hockey fans.

You do know that Anchorage was the host in Anaheim right?

 

[alfablue]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Alaska, I'm looking at you!

Wasn't one of the Alaska teams the host for the Anaheim FF?

Having one out there isn't all that unique. And not all that attended, either.

 

[blockski]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

I want the best of both worlds: I want a packed house AND a good city to explore. What can I say, I'm greedy!

I didn't dislike WI at all, but I don't like cities where attendance is largely based on who will make the championship.

I'm also still ruing the stupidity of not buying championship tickets before the first WI game. I could have bought them for well under face from the scalpers scared of losing it all and then turned it all around and made upwards of a grand selling championship tickets on Saturday.

Attendance and atmosphere aren't the same thing. As noted, Milwaukee's two prior FF's didn't involve the Badgers, yet had solid attendance.

DC had a good crowd, but it's not like you couldn't scalp your way in for below face value.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Attendance and atmosphere aren't the same thing. As noted, Milwaukee's two prior FF's didn't involve the Badgers, yet had solid attendance.

DC had a good crowd, but it's not like you couldn't scalp your way in for below face value.

Did you scalp your way in to DC because i asked a few scalpers out of curiosity and they were above face every time I asked...

 

[Red Cloud]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

San Jose has been mentioned before, and I like the idea. I would say it is probably a better non-traditional location that Tampa is.

The interest has to be there for a bid. RPI underpinned the last San Jose bid, I haven't heard about wanting to do it again.

 

[blockski]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Did you scalp your way in to DC because i asked a few scalpers out of curiosity and they were above face every time I asked...

Yes, I did. Not a ton below face value, but below nonetheless.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Yes, I did. Not a ton below face value, but below nonetheless.

Not surprising I guess but most of the scalpers i talked to were way out of whack from reality.

 

[CLS]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Not surprising I guess but most of the scalpers i talked to were way out of whack from reality.

Though unless you actually bargained with him, you don't know what he'd actually sell for as opposed to what he wants to get.

 

[CHFAN222]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

San Jose has been mentioned before, and I like the idea. I would say it is probably a better non-traditional location that Tampa is.

I would disagree with you on that for a couple of reasons.

1. Location. Tampa specifically St. Petersburg is gorgeous. Also the you can actually go swimming in the ocean in April there and not freeze your *** off like you would in San Jose.

2. Cost. The Bay Area is one of the most expensive parts of the country. Tampa is very well priced. Lots of cheap beers and more importantly alot of cheap flights available to Tampa.

3. Plenty else to do. I am not saying that there isn't alot to do in Bay Area but it is not going to be as easy as Tampa. On the off day for example fans could drive out to Orlando and check out the parks.

 

[Steve_MN]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

I'm going out for a full week for the Tampa one. Spend some time in Orlando, take the kid to Disney, then head to Tampa for some beach time and hockey later in the week.

This is pretty much my plan too. Figuring on St Pete Beach and relaxing for most of the week.

Also from that article: looks like the Pittsburgh folks are pretty serious about getting the F4. I approve.

Here I am agreeing with a Badger fan, but yes, I definitely approve of Pittsburgh hosting one. New arena plus being back at the forefront of hockey generally, this would be a natural fit, I'd think.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

It couldn't have been worse than Columbus.

Forget taking a loss - I took nothing. After quickly realizing the futility of the situation, I yelled "free to good home" and left my extras sitting on a bench just outside the entrance to the venue.

I've posted on this many times; I'll confine myself to a checklist version of the story:

1. As a non-tradional market, Columbus wasn't going to be a tough ticket. Anyone participating in the priority lottery *should* have realized that it was a fundamentally different situation than St. Paul or Boston, and that there was a greater than usual risk involved.

2. The All-WCHA FF was a notable occurrence for the hockey purist, but a disaster for the secondary ticket market. No CCHA teams meant no participating teams within easy driving distance. No Hockey East teams meant that the HE fans cancelled their trips en masse. Worse, their usual customers for extra tickets lost all interest. "There's no one to root for" was a common refrain.

3. Local fans had been told for months the event was a hard sell-out. The word that there were plentiful tickets to be had on the street didn't get out at all on Thursday. A limited number of fans did get the word in time for Saturday.

Overall, it was an almost a perfect storm working against the secondary market. Naturally people who were stuck with extras were extremely disappointed.

The thing that's really a shame is that this experience will work against any future Columbus bid. Nationwide Arena and the adjoining Arena District would actually be perfect for a FF. Hotels, Eats & Drinks and the Rink would all be within easy walking distance of one another. As most are aware, the rink itself is outstanding. It's about 10 years old and home to the NHL Blue Jackets.

on topic: no to stadiums; yes to Pittsburgh

Agreed on both counts!

 

[Larch]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Only problem might be finding some ice for a Posters game there, but thats a minor complaint.

I know the Brandon Ice Sports Forum will gladly rent ice for that. 15 minutes from downtown and bar in the rink. What more could you want.?

 

[amherstblackbear]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Nationwide Arena and the adjoining Arena District would actually be perfect for a FF. Hotels, Eats & Drinks and the Rink would all be within easy walking distance of one another.

No argument here. I could get on board for that. I was just expressing skepticism that there's been a softer secondary market in the past several years.

 

[Puck Swami]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

I've posted on this many times; I'll confine myself to a checklist version of the story:

1. As a non-tradional market, Columbus wasn't going to be a tough ticket. Anyone participating in the priority lottery *should* have realized that it was a fundamentally different situation than St. Paul or Boston, and that there was a greater than usual risk involved.

2. The All-WCHA FF was a notable occurrence for the hockey purist, but a disaster for the secondary ticket market. No CCHA teams meant no participating teams within easy driving distance. No Hockey East teams meant that the HE fans cancelled their trips en masse. Worse, their usual customers for extra tickets lost all interest. "There's no one to root for" was a common refrain.

3. Local fans had been told for months the event was a hard sell-out. The word that there were plentiful tickets to be had on the street didn't get out at all on Thursday. A limited number of fans did get the word in time for Saturday.

Overall, it was an almost a perfect storm working against the secondary market. Naturally people who were stuck with extras were extremely disappointed.

The thing that's really a shame is that this experience will work against any future Columbus bid. Nationwide Arena and the adjoining Arena District would actually be perfect for a FF. Hotels, Eats & Drinks and the Rink would all be within easy walking distance of one another. The rink itself is outstanding; as most know, it's about 10 years old and home the NHL Blue Jackets.

Agreed on both counts!

We Denver fans had a nice time in Columbus that year.

Frankly, there were a lot more people in the building than I expected.

 

[huskyfan]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

Tampa will be a great site.

How about Toronto? its kinda half way. and, heck, the Canadian fans will come and watch.

 

[Terrierbyassociation]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

2. Cost. The Bay Area is one of the most expensive parts of the country. Tampa is very well priced. Lots of cheap beers and more importantly alot of cheap flights available to Tampa.

3. Plenty else to do. I am not saying that there isn't alot to do in Bay Area but it is not going to be as easy as Tampa. On the off day for example fans could drive out to Orlando and check out the parks.

1. San Jose is a pretty cheap place to stay. You're confusing SF and SJ.
2. There is just as much to do in San Francisco as there is in Tampa. You have Napa Valley, Golden Gate, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf...etc. Tampa has a clear advantage over the Bay Area when it comes to children-friendly activities and weather.

No advantage in price or things to do.

 

[slurpees]

Re: 2013, '14, '15 Frozen Four Sites

1. Location. Tampa specifically St. Petersburg is gorgeous. Also the you can actually go swimming in the ocean in April there and not freeze your *** off like you would in San Jose.

I'll agree the Tampa weather is great, and the area is pretty nice, but the problem with it is it's VERY spread out and there's virtually no public transportation. Thus, everyone going will basically have to get a rental car. It was a nightmare for the Final Four when it was there at Tropicana Field because the games were in St. Pete, the NCAA designated fan hotels were in Clearwater Beach, which was a 30-40 minute bus ride but right on the ocean which was awesome, and the fan events were in Tampa, another 30-40 minute bus ride in the other direction. So account for a rental car and a good amount of gas for the weekend.