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For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

rvd5star69 said:
The ECAC tourney should be 1 of these 3 places in order. 1) LAKE PLACID- the best hockey town on earth. 2) I wouldnt mind seeing it in Syracuse. Its a good city, with lots to do, and not long drive for the big 6 slu, cornell, gate, slu, rpi, clarkson. 3) I would give Providence a try. Glenns Falls seems to small, Albany is too dull, AC is too far and pricey.
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Can't knock AC for expense and let LP off the hook. LP's minimum stay requirements and resort pricing keep down student, and casual, attendance.

Also there's nothing convenient about the Ithaca to LP drive. It's only 20 min closer than AC. But should campus to site distance be the concern? Where are the fans coming from for this event? Where would they come from? Would Bridgeport or Worcester or Providence sellout due to proximity to Boston or NY? Just because Albany is in the geographic center of campuses doesn't mean it's the geographic center of fans.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

LGR03 said:
Can't knock AC for expense and let LP off the hook. LP's minimum stay requirements and resort pricing keep down student, and casual, attendance.

Also there's nothing convenient about the Ithaca to LP drive. It's only 20 min closer than AC. But should campus to site distance be the concern? Where are the fans coming from for this event? Where would they come from? Would Bridgeport or Worcester or Providence sellout due to proximity to Boston or NY? Just because Albany is in the geographic center of campuses doesn't mean it's the geographic center of fans.
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The driving argument was made for why Syracuse should host the ECAC championships. It's nice for the NY teams, and if we were an Empire league (non-ivies + RIT and Niagara) it may work, but it's still on the west end of the league. Not to mention what I had said about the atmosphere here.

Bridgeport is going to do well for the regionals because Yale is there. I really don't think that, aside from Lake Placid (and if you were to put people up in either Saranac Lake or even Plattsburgh and bus them in), there is another community around the ECAC that would support college hockey in general, aside from MAYBE Boston. If you really wanted to maximize attendance, hold the ECAC championships at the highest remaining seed's home location. (Disclaimer: I'm not saying this SHOULD be done.) Sadly, attendance will be a crapshoot (no pun intended on this year's location) based upon who makes it to the ECAC championships.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

chickod said:
And this is good why??? Two of the best places I have ever watched a game was from the first balcony at the old Boston Garden and the balcony at Matthews Arena (Northeastern). About the WORST place to watch a hockey game is an arena with a "gradual" vertical rise - too many seats below the top of the glass level and too far from the ice.
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Chickod: Good catch. As I said I basically cut and pasted each arena's promo material into a post, just to give guys stuff to consider. As it happens I was a Rangers season ticket holder for about 20 years and I absolutely agree with you. A full to capacity Garden is (or can be) wonderful for atmosphere but the sightlines are, in my opinion, a draw back not a positive attribute. I, too, much prefer steeper stands. Two, in particular, that are very steep and on the list are the Izod in the Meadowlands and the Hartford Civic Center (can't remember what its called today).
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

Eph72 said:
It has been suggested that I add Utica to the mix. I have also added the hockey seating capacity of the principal arena in the city to the right of the metro area population:

Albany 1614/12=134.5 (12) 825,000 15,500
Springfield 1810/12=150.8 (9) 680,000 7,276
Glens Falls 1882/12=156.83 (9) 124,000 4,806
Hartford 1893/12=157.75 (8) 1,148,000 15,635
Utica 1989/12=165.75 (6) 300,000 4,000
Bridgeport 2081/12=173.4 (7) 882,000 9,000
Worcester 2094/12=174.5 (7) 750,000 14,800
Mohegan Sun 2241/12=186.75 (8) 18,546 n/a
Binghamton 2289/12=190.75 (5) 252,320 4,710
Syracuse 2315/12=192.9 (6) 650,154 6,230
Providence 2322/12=193.5 (7) 621,000 11,940
New York City 2341/12=195 (6) 18,000,000 n/a
Boston 2393/12=199.4 (7) 4,391,000 17,565
Lake Placid 2416/12=201.3 (6) 2,638 7,700
Atlantic City 3591/12=299.25 (1) 252,552 10,500

Utica is the home of the Memorial Auditorium, a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena built in 1959. The Aud hosted the 1962 NCAA Frozen Four. Scenes from the 1977 movie "Slap Shot" were filmed there. It is home to the Utica College Pioneers, Mohawk Valley Community College Hawks, The Skating Club of Utica and several high school varsity ice hockey teams. It has been the home of the Utica Devils of the American Hockey League, the Utica Bulldogs, Utica Blizzard, and Mohawk Valley Prowlers of the United Hockey League, and the Mohawk Valley IceCats of the North Eastern Hockey League. It is the home of Utica College, which has the highest average attendance in Division III of United States college hockey.
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Don't forget the Mohawk Valley Comets! I suggest adding Lowell and Manchester to the mix. Nice arenas both.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

rdf8585 said:
It might do better in Glens Falls, but obvious roadblocks include the Phantoms and the HS basketball tourney. Might be able to move things around, though. It only seats 4806 -- probably could get up to 5500 with standing room -- but that's probably enough seats for the ECAC. Great hockey venue. They put in new seats 5 years ago and later this year are putting in 1-2 video boards and a new sound system. It's more of a hockey town than Albany. And you could sell GF as a tourist attraction with the Adirondacks, Lake George, and what not.
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The HS basketball tournament is that weekend and has been there for 30 years. I don't think that's going to change in the near future.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

bothman said:
Some of us have a wife and kid(s). Tough selling Bridgeport, Albany, Utica, or Springfield for the weekend....Hey honey, let's spend the weekend in Bridgeport???

I have long argued for Boston (relaizing that the Hockey East Final is there) or even NYC. We could have it at Agannis which is a good size for the crowd we would bring (the Fleet Center would seem empty if we ever had it there - Let Hockey Least take the bigger stage). Strong alumni communities across all schools since Boston & NYC are the biggest job markets in the Northeast.

If not Boston or NYC, then Providence or Worcester (if the New Haven Colliseum were still around, New Haven would work as well).

My 2 cents...
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I agree with all of this however I'll also add that in 2 years not only does the AC agreement run out but the Big Ten conference also begins. Perhaps a conference shake-up is in store. If so... we might want to think further out of the box.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

BigRedTerrier said:
Dear god I wish it could be at Matthews...not realistic because of the capacity, but man what a gorgeous great place to watch a game
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No it isn't. There are only about 2K good seats in the arena. Other than the front row, the entire upper level is essentially obstructed view. Great place if you have a good seat. Not enough good seats to go around though!
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

FlagDUDE08 said:
Yes, but when was the last time you went to Utica? Before or after GE skipped town?
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I'm a Merrimack fan, but I've seen my share of ECAC games. Usually try to make it to Harvard a few times a year when MC isn't playing. My assumption has always been that Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Cornell and RPI have the best traveling fanbase. Why would the tournament not be somewhere in the vicinity of those teams like Albany? I know Albany has it's drawbacks, but it has a bunch of hotels right near the arena. I've been there for Frozen Fours and regionals. There was a Jillian's right nearby where everyone went to watch the other games being played. Albany is also relatively close to Dartmouth, Yale and Harvard, at least compared to Atlantic City. Union has a team on the rise and Colgate gets to the playoffs often enough. Seems silly to not have the tournament in upstate NY somewhere.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

UnionHockeyManiac said:
Stop making sense. :mad:

In all seriousness though, I think it would be awesome to have the ECAC Tourney at the Garden. I know it's unlikely and nearly impossible, but I would love to see it some day.
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I'll bet we could get HE to agree to ECAC semi's on Thurs, HE on FRI and a doubleheader finals on Saturday. Could be just the reason we need to jettison the 3rd place game.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

FlagDUDE08 said:
Yes, but when was the last time you went to Utica? Before or after GE skipped town?
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I said Lowell not Utica. I was in Utica the weekend of Freakout! I grew up in the area. It's a nice place to live if you have a good job. It's not a great place to visit and the Aud is a bad choice. I actually replaced the seats there once as a summer job!
 
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Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

jmhusker said:
I'll bet we could get HE to agree to ECAC semi's on Thurs, HE on FRI and a doubleheader finals on Saturday. Could be just the reason we need to jettison the 3rd place game.
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Sorry, I should have clarified. I was talking about the real garden: Madison Square Garden.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

jmhusker said:
I said Lowell not Utica. I was in Utica the weekend of Freakout! I grew up in the area. It's a nice place to live if you have a good job. It's not a great place to visit and the Aud is a bad choice. I actually replaced the seats there once as a summer job!
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OK, I think we were reading two completely different parts of the original message. I have to drive through it to get to RPI home games.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

jmhusker said:
I'll bet we could get HE to agree to ECAC semi's on Thurs, HE on FRI and a doubleheader finals on Saturday. Could be just the reason we need to jettison the 3rd place game.
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Sounds eerily familiar...as if this has been done before.
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

Eph72 said:
Two, in particular, that are very steep and on the list are the Izod in the Meadowlands and the Hartford Civic Center (can't remember what its called today).
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FYI...the arena in Hartford is now called the XL Center (name changed in 2007). Agganis is also very steep and has excellent sightlines (I realize it's not big enough, I'm just saying)...the back row is only 60 feet from the ice. The footprint was designed that way to get the fans closer to the action. :)
 
Re: For ECAC Fans: Where Should Our Tournament Be Held?

MarkEagleUSA said:
I can appreciate the architecture, but that "curtain" just didn't speak hockey to me. Others may have liked it, but I found it gaudy and a bit distracting. The building did nothing to make me feel like I was at a hockey game.
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The building actually has a long history with hockey. It had special significance for me because my Dad used to watch games there in the 40's (and also because I sang there at the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976).

Strange but true: the Liberty Bowl in 1964 was held in that building, the first indoor bowl game and the first college football game on national TV:

LibertyBowl62305.jpg
 
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