Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?
A problem I could see, however, would be finding a way to ensure that the seats are sold to fans of the teams who are actually involved. I'm sure at Lynah or Ingalls, the tickets would be gobbled up by Cornell and Yale season ticket-holders immediately.
The terms ECAC PLayoff tickets and the words "would be gobbled up" do not belong in the same sentence and that is one of the root causes of the issue.
I have thought and thought about the best solution for our tournament and as much as we all love our ECAC hockey, I think you have to go into the planning for this thing with some foregone conclusions in place.
-The tournament is really only ever going to be a draw for the league fans (not huge) and the schools involved.
-Unless a promoting genius (or someone with deep pockets) gets involved....there will only ever be MINIMAL ticket sales to any fan base not included in the first point.
-Having said that, we have all agreed it is better to dimension it to an arena that is not so huge that we feel like we are playing in an empty mausoleum. As attendance will always range from the highs and lows mentioned in Ken Schotts article further down this thread.
-The league geography is diverse. The centrist posters correctly point out Albany as the most convenient location. (Doesn't mean we should go back there.)
-I think once you "concede" or "accept" the above criteria the choices on where to hold it become easier and clearer.
So........do we just go with geography for the convenience??? Or.....with Atlantic City being the ultimate ridiculous choice in the extreme and seeing some die hard fans still do go........I propose another sub set of criteria to consider.
Do you want to be a small fish in a big city?
Or, a big fish in a small city?
They both have their points to consider. When you choose a bigger city you do have more choice, hotels, places to go, things to do, other alternatives. However on the negative once our crowd (using Albany as the example) disburses out to stay.......we all disappear into the larger landscape. That will happen in any mid to large city we go to. On the other hand one cannot deny the ambiance, camaraderie and team spirit that was always present when our small horde descended onto the streets of Lake Placid. Far away as it was we did own the venue and the city and that made it special for some of us.
I'd like to throw in at this point some credentials and experience. I have worked on and off my entire business career in sales and marketing. I have held marketing positions for companies heavily involved in sports sponsorships. There is no draw in our league for any kind of "national" interest for sponsorship. Even this new fat calf Albany is rolling out to "double their bid" will be just that. They will be dumb and happy for a bit but they are CDPHP.....a local Capital District company looking for exposure locally not where Harvard or Quinnipiac or Princeton fans play or reside. Their interest is only local. Our tournament does not fit their mission and all this suit Belber is doing is mis-using their (CDPHP) money to bolster his bid and get an event back to his venue (To make himself look good. I am being harsh on him but on the other hand it is his job to bring events in and maximize usage/profit of his venue.)
This past year my company just came off being one of the major (financial) sponsors of a D 1 NCAA event. I know how much we paid, I saw the proposals, attendance projections...I know the arena, city.......I saw the post event metrics, I attended. I saw first hand what transpired. I saw an arena do way more than the ECAC or Times Union Center did to promote the event including inclusions of promotion/giveways/events at multiple levels all around the city.....and guess what??? No one came. Parents of players, fans of the schools, some perhaps marginal local interest in spite of giving tickets away and doing the fan fest things Albany and other venues will do. After the event....I visited blogs and school sites and guess what?? Substitute our event for theirs and they all complained about the same things we have been complaining about for years.
In summary this event is for us, our league, our schools. We need to be selfish and dimension it to what it is and what we want it to be to make it as enjoyable for our schools and fan base and that's it. Anything else the ECAC can get out of it is going to be gravy. There will always be "suckers" like AC who will come along and pay us to go there and perhaps our league will continue to sell itself off to the highest bidder (and whose to say that don't have to, to stay viable.)
So....after this diatribe......where do we go? What would I recommend? I offer the below only as my choices, not yours.
As central as Albany is the arena is a tad too big....we've been there done it and I don't think the experience was all that enjoyable. Below is Belber's quote:
We were honored to be host of the tournament for many years," Belber said. "And with it not being here for the last couple of years, we have missed it and, frankly, so have the business establishments downtown, and even in the Capital Region in the way of hotels and restaurants."
Is he talking about the downtown establishments that within walking distance of the event weren't even open? To me Albany is a non choice as the downtown area immediately around the arena is marginal, limited hotel choice, restaurants are dreadful. Go back there only if you want the geographic choice or the deal is so good and the league needs the money. Other than that I'll repeat the dreadful word.
Although not central geographically I say give Providence a shot. The Dunk is within easy walking distance of WAY MORE of everything than Albany. The downtown underwent a masterful renewal. There are tons of hotels, restaurants, bars. The downtown is vibrant compared to Bridgeport or Albany. Of all the city choices (who are supposedly going to bid) I think Providence is head and shoulders above them all. You get in downtown what you have to go all the way out to Wolf Rd for in Albany. The arena is still a bit large for us (11,900 vs. 15,500 in Albany) but there are no perfect solutions.
My other choice is the sentimental one. Go back to Placid. Let us own the city. Let's be the big fish in the little pond. Yeah its a hell of a long way away. But it's beautiful. Yeah the weather can be a *****....but hey whether your 60 or 16 we all still need adventures to get someplace.
Those would be my two choices. (Not suggesting they should be yours.)
