Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

[Jaws]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

I have to agree. Even in a nice city like Denver, we really had to scramble to find a place to eat after the thursday session. I know it probably will never happen, but My friends and I much preferred the two separate games with dinner break between.

I don't need my *** kissed, but I like it when stuff doesn't close at 10 pm on a Thursday with 10,000 people looking for food or drinks... or the local places are prepared for crowds and are able to handle them and make them feel welcome. Handling a crowd for one NHL game is different than handling a Frozen Four crowd that is staying all weekend.

p.s. for those that asked, San Diego's arena (Valley View Casino Arena, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena) seats just over 16,000 - what's the minimum again?? [/QUOTE]

 

[mookie1995]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

San Juan 18,500

 

[Craig P.]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

I must have gone to the wrong (or, alternatively, right) places in DC, because I thought it was great and can't wait for the tournament to go back there. Setting aside all the cool tourist-y stuff to do on the off day, there seemed to be a lot of good places within an easy walk of the arena.

 

[Thecalkid]

p.s. for those that asked, San Diego's arena (Valley View Casino Arena, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena) seats just over 16,000 - what's the minimum again?? :
More like 13,000 for hockey

 

[Hux]

I don't think anyone said they didn't want it to be in NYC, the issue is that MSG seems unlikely to be part of a bid because they always have a packed calendar this time of year with the Rangers and the Knicks and concerts, the Barclays Center has a small capacity and strange layout for hockey, and the Prudential Center is in, you know, Newark and nobody wants to go there. (Maybe in another 10-15 years if urban renewal actually takes hold in that area.)

Doesn't the NIT squeekyball tourney have its Final Four at MSG?

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

You must have missed the FF in Providence in 2000.

I won't even go into the fact that you state it is "walkable" and "you have to drive everywhere" in the same paragraph.

I meant to say a very small confined area of downtown is walkable, but outside of that, not really. I was typing quickly at work in between boss walking by my computer. And what else is there besides that small strip of riverfront and a mall with some restaurants? Either way, Providence sucks, way too small to host a FF. They should really not be considering non-NHL cities unless there's some extenuating circumstance. Perhaps Milwaukee is the only exception, but while I've never been there, I don't think I've ever read one good review of that place.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

Doesn't the NIT squeekyball tourney have its Final Four at MSG?

Yes, but the championship was last night, it's always the Thursday before the Final Four, so that's not an issue. Since this would be planned in years in advance, it likely wouldn't be hard to schedule out a three day block for the arena. The problem with NYC in general, as has been stated, is that the event would get lost in the shuffle of the city. You could put it in Newark, but Newark largely sucks, and you'd still have the same problem since Newark is essentially an extension of NYC.

 

[StLooMav]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

I must have gone to the wrong (or, alternatively, right) places in DC, because I thought it was great and can't wait for the tournament to go back there. Setting aside all the cool tourist-y stuff to do on the off day, there seemed to be a lot of good places within an easy walk of the arena.

For things to do on off days, this was the best one by far. Followed closely by Clydesdales and beer in St. Louis.

 

[brassbonanza]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

I must have gone to the wrong (or, alternatively, right) places in DC, because I thought it was great and can't wait for the tournament to go back there. Setting aside all the cool tourist-y stuff to do on the off day, there seemed to be a lot of good places within an easy walk of the arena.

Oh yes, if people weren't entertained and couldn't find something to do in DC, they had their head up their arse. The problem with DC was that outside of the immediate block of the Verizon Center, you'd basically have no clue the FF was there.

 

[shiftyjedi]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

So let me get this right. We want a great NHL arena, the newer the better. We want lots of local bars that know what hockey is and who support the games. We want to be able to walk around and see stuff close to the arena on our day off.. We want a big city but not too big. is no NYC.
Seems to me everyone wants something a little different.
Pittsburg is a pretty small town with not that much to do and a lot of old buildings. Much like Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee,Philly,Grand Rapids, Nashville, blah de blah.
So what about Atlanta. oops/ you have to drive, there aren't that many bars walking distance, tons of homeless guys, but it is somewhat warmer and easy to get to.
As far as New Orleans, a bigger dump than any of them, and really Bourbon st is great if you are 20, but not so much if you are 40.
Do they even have an arena.? And talk about homeless guys.!! Plus there is a lot of violence. The latest thing is to find tourists near the French quarter later in the evening, and hit them in the back of the head with a hammer.

People want Saint Paul, but as great as Saint Paul is they just can't host it every year for every-bodies sake. The NCAA has too many rules, but it would be nice if cities really did their homework and tried to treat tourist to their cities well.

 

[mookie1995]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

mookie can't believe he keeps reading peeps want nyc, but not san juan.

outside of the weather, there is no difference (er, and priceless can't take the train)

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

There is an relevant map of interest in college hockey based upon Google searches attached to the post at April 05, 2013 11:11AM on this thread at eLynah.

 

[Onion Man]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

Tampa again please.

I think it should be mandatory that the Frozen Four be placed in a city that has either a Titled Kilt or an In-And-Out Burger. Mandatory.

 

[CLS]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

People want Saint Paul, but as great as Saint Paul is they just can't host it every year for every-bodies sake. The NCAA has too many rules, but it would be nice if cities really did their homework and tried to treat tourist to their cities well.

St. Paul is basically unique. Every other city that has an NHL sized rink is decidedly pro sports and NHL-centric. That's certainly a big problem in Boston.

I remember once after coming back after BC won the national championship, I was listening to the sports report on a local radio station. BC's winning the national championship was not even mentioned. Some off-season Red Sox stuff was.

 

[Osorojo]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

Travelers do not go to Bemidji or Brainerd only to see the statues of Paul Bunyan. Hockey fans do not travel to Frozen Four host cities only to watch hockey games. Tampa was evidently a very popular venue for reasons other than the arena facility itself or a nearby concentration of college hockey fans. Stuff like transportation, access, dining and lodging facilities, entertainment, and relief from the April epidemic of shack nasties far outweigh stuff like parsing driving distances between concentrations of rabid fans or weighing the authentic/historic hockey legitimacy of the venue itself. They say Las Vegas is nice in early April . . .

 

[mookie1995]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

Today's boston herald

Patrick B. Moscaritolo, the president & CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said a Frozen Four in Boston would typically generate as much as $6 million, if three or more teams traveled. The bureau estimated the 116th Boston Marathon in 2012 generated $137.5 million in spending impact to the region, a figure comparable to hosting an NCAA basketball Final Four. He said it was possible for Boston to handle both a Frozen Four and Boston Marathon concurrently. According to Moscaritolo, there are approximately 23,000 available hotel rooms in the Boston and Cambridge areas. Of that total, the marathon typically uses about 12,000 while a Frozen Four uses about 2,000.

 

[Hux]

St. Paul is basically unique. Every other city that has an NHL sized rink is decidedly pro sports and NHL-centric. That's certainly a big problem in Boston.

I remember once after coming back after BC won the national championship, I was listening to the sports report on a local radio station. BC's winning the national championship was not even mentioned. Some off-season Red Sox stuff was.

Actually it would have been in season for three of four pro sports, plus golf and the marathon, so not surprising it got back burnered.

 

[mookie1995]

Actually it would have been in season for three of four pro sports, plus golf and the marathon, so not surprising it got back burnered.

Don't forget the #1 topic in April!! Patsies draft talk

 

[davyd83]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

So let me get this right. We want a great NHL arena, the newer the better. We want lots of local bars that know what hockey is and who support the games. We want to be able to walk around and see stuff close to the arena on our day off.. We want a big city but not too big. is no NYC.
Seems to me everyone wants something a little different.
Pittsburg is a pretty small town with not that much to do and a lot of old buildings. Much like Buffalo, Detroit, Milwaukee,Philly,Grand Rapids, Nashville, blah de blah.
So what about Atlanta. oops/ you have to drive, there aren't that many bars walking distance, tons of homeless guys, but it is somewhat warmer and easy to get to.
As far as New Orleans, a bigger dump than any of them, and really Bourbon st is great if you are 20, but not so much if you are 40.
Do they even have an arena.? And talk about homeless guys.!! Plus there is a lot of violence. The latest thing is to find tourists near the French quarter later in the evening, and hit them in the back of the head with a hammer.

Do they even have an arena? Yes they have an NHL calibre arena. The New Orleans Hornets NBA team plays there and it formerly housed the ECHL New Orleans Brass.

 

[HumRsky]

Re: Frozen Four 2015 Where do we go from here?

To be perfectly honest, I think Omaha would be a fantastic location for the Frozen Four. As mentioned earlier, I really enjoyed my time there. The CLink is big enough (17,100 for hockey), the city is big enough (800,000 metro pop), but not huge. We know they embrace NCAA championship events, they have hosted the College World Series for decades, which is an even bigger event (20,000+ avg per game for 14 games and 8 teams participating). I would expect all that hosting experience would make a Frozen Four there fantastically organized and the city is small enough that locals would be aware of and "embrace" the event. There is a lot to do, including one of the best zoos in the world, casinos in Council Bluffs. a ton of great restaurants, a batch of museums and music venues, in fact Kiplinger's named Omaha the "#3 city in the USA to live, work, and play." It is an easy place to drive to, and has a decent size airport with non-stop destinations that include Minneapolis, Denver, Detroit, DC, La Guardia, Newark, and Chicago.
Similar to how people were very pleasantly surprised about how great Tampa was, I think those who think Omaha is just "a small town in the middle of nowhere" would be very pleasently surprised as well.
(I have no personal affiliation with Omaha, I just think it would be a great host and would try very hard to attend if it did.)