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NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Subscribed because I guess we need another thread to discuss regionals.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

It’s the off-season, and I guess this is what we’re getting instead of “Syracuse/Iowa/USC should toooooootally start a program, guys and why don’t the Ivies break away from ECAC and kick PROVICED out of HOCKEY RAST” threads.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

It’s the off-season, and I guess this is what we’re getting instead of “Syracuse/Iowa/USC should toooooootally start a program, guys and why don’t the Ivies break away from ECAC and kick PROVICED out of HOCKEY RAST” threads.

USCHO is going to publish my story on Monday with some more detail on these selections and the process. There's going to be nothing really earth-shattering in it, but some more info on what the committee looks for and confirmation of a couple of things.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Thank You to all for such a spirited response to "Campus Sites" for the regionals. It clearly is something we all think about as we see many, many more "empty" seats, particularly at the regional finals.

Like all NCAA (except D-I MBBall) and Pro sports, the teams that do the best in the regular season have earned the right to host their playoffs rounds.

For years we hear the East does OK with attendance, while the West does not....hello???

I am looking forward to seeing more empty seats, more expenses, less revenue and more disrespect to the regular season games in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Let's keep this discussion going for one of the best NCAA Sports!
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Thank You to all for such a spirited response to "Campus Sites" for the regionals. It clearly is something we all think about as we see many, many more "empty" seats, particularly at the regional finals.

Like all NCAA (except D-I MBBall) and Pro sports, the teams that do the best in the regular season have earned the right to host their playoffs rounds.

For years we hear the East does OK with attendance, while the West does not....hello???

I am looking forward to seeing more empty seats, more expenses, less revenue and more disrespect to the regular season games in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Let's keep this discussion going for one of the best NCAA Sports!

Jack McDonald - Please offer more of your thoughts. Many different problems with "Home Sites for the Top 4 Seeds" have been brought up here, and you have not really addressed any of them. Please contribute more.

For my part, I have done some more calculations, and found this:
Let's suppose we do a different system:
We make the NCAAs 3 weekends.
Weekend 1: Home sites for the Top 8 in the PWR, or for the Conf Tourney Champs + however many at-large rinks you need to make 8 sites.
Weekend 2: 2 Regional Sites, each hosting 2 games. These would be Saturday, Sunday and would be bid for.
Weekend 3: Frozen Four
I'm not sure how to fit on the calendar, but this is what I found:

For the home sites week, this year's field would have had a home capacity average of 5250 for the top 8 seeds, and 5575 for the Conf Tourney Champs method.
The Regional Semis this year actually averaged: (5033, 4220, 7180, 3763) 5050.

I think it's safe to say that home sites would have done better. Most would have been full, I believe.
 
Jack McDonald - Please offer more of your thoughts. Many different problems with "Home Sites for the Top 4 Seeds" have been brought up here, and you have not really addressed any of them. Please contribute more.

For my part, I have done some more calculations, and found this:
Let's suppose we do a different system:
We make the NCAAs 3 weekends.
Weekend 1: Home sites for the Top 8 in the PWR, or for the Conf Tourney Champs + however many at-large rinks you need to make 8 sites.
Weekend 2: 2 Regional Sites, each hosting 2 games. These would be Saturday, Sunday and would be bid for.
Weekend 3: Frozen Four
I'm not sure how to fit on the calendar, but this is what I found:

For the home sites week, this year's field would have had a home capacity average of 5250 for the top 8 seeds, and 5575 for the Conf Tourney Champs method.
The Regional Semis this year actually averaged: (5033, 4220, 7180, 3763) 5050.

I think it's safe to say that home sites would have done better. Most would have been full, I believe.

How will you make sure that all teams have rinks available for Regionals? Some rinks are municipally owned and have other tenants or events booked months, even a year in advance. Even on campus venues have other non-hockey bookings. How can you assure that all venues are ESPN friendly? It is much better for TV purposes if the venue is known in advance and the network can have the site surveyed and a plan laid out in advance. Could ESPN have fit a professional production into Arizona State’s rink? If Ohio St had to move to their practice rink, would that work?
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

It’s the off-season, and I guess this is what we’re getting instead of “Syracuse/Iowa/USC should toooooootally start a program, guys and why don’t the Ivies break away from ECAC and kick PROVICED out of HOCKEY RAST” threads.

My point was it would be nice to have one thread instead of 573
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Understanding the process: A look at the selection of the 2020, 2021 NCAA men’s hockey regional sites



Detailed requirements

In August 2018, the NCAA requested bids for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 regionals. A 21-page specifications document included minimum requirements for the arena, event marketing, lodging, volunteer needs and financial terms.

The facility specifications are extensive — spanning six pages of the document — but there are other requirements that may also serve to narrow the number of bids.

According to the specifications, the facility and the area surrounding it — such as parking lots and adjoining property — must be turned over completely for the use of the NCAA one day prior to the event. The arena must be “modern, clean and accessible” with a minimum capacity of 5,000 seats.

But that’s just the beginning of the requirements.

The NCAA also must be provided the use of all meeting rooms, private clubs and restaurants in the facility at no cost. Video and public address equipment, scoreboards and overhead goal cameras must be provided by the host facility. Even the arena lighting must be approved by the NCAA and its broadcast partner ESPN.

The arena must also supply two suites as close to center ice as possible for the use of the NCAA during practices and games.

The NCAA also requires that all team and sponsor logos that usually would be in the arena be covered up or removed from the boards, ice and other fixtures. New board coverings and ice markings are provided by the NCAA, but the host arena is responsible for the labor to install them.

Host arenas must provide four comparable locker rooms with 22 lockers and room for 31 people, as well as a referees’ locker room with capacity for six officials. The host must also provide water, soft drinks, sports drinks, pregame fruit and postgame lunches, as well as towels and other supplies for teams and referees.

Media requirements include 75 press box seats and work space for 75 elsewhere in the arena, with power, internet, television monitors and light refreshments, as well as a press conference area. Room for a 75-person television crew is also required.

A large block of hotel rooms, which are paid for by the NCAA, must be reserved by the host, with teams lodging in four separate hotels, all within walking distance of the arena. Rooms are also required for the NCAA and for on-ice officials. Accommodations for 226 people are required.

The host must also provide all public relations coordination, first aid and medical services, food and beverage concessions, support personnel, computers, fax machines, printers, athletic training staff, and “other items as later requested by the NCAA.” To accomplish this, each site requires about 100 volunteers.

While it’s not part of the bid document, NHL-sized ice is a priority for a regional site (and a requirement for the Frozen Four).

After sites are chosen, the host must also submit a detailed marketing plan with a minimum budget of $5,000.

Finally, the specifications require a financial guarantee to the NCAA of $150,000. After all receipts from the regional have been determined and the NCAA has received its guarantee, the host receives the lesser amount of budgeted or actual expenses. Any remaining receipts above that amount are split 80% to the NCAA and 20% to the host institutions or conferences.

There are a lot of requirements to host and potential hosts must be ready to meet them to be considered.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

USCHO is going to publish my story on Monday with some more detail on these selections and the process. There's going to be nothing really earth-shattering in it, but some more info on what the committee looks for and confirmation of a couple of things.

Good to know more of the ins and outs of the process.

The restriction on having a sponsor school will eliminate many of the spitball ideas from rinks in the West, since there are few schools who would be willing to do something like Michigan Tech did as the host school in Green Bay. The hotels within walking distance requirement is obviously not enforced strictly, knowing that Bridgeport in particular is still involved. Parking lot control seems petty, but well within what you'd expect from the NCAA. The 75 person TV crew requirement was laughable, no regional site ever will even have half of that. The 80-20 split of revenues after expenses in favor of the NCAA is also very discouraging for hosts, that should be reduced if they really want to attract new sites.

I'm even more convinced that Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo would be a very suitable venue, now that it's apparent that it ticks most of the boxes as a facility (outside of pressbox space). The rub now is getting WMU to commit as the host school, especially after they took a financial bath on the Grand Rapids regionals.
 
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Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Good to know more of the ins and outs of the process.

The restriction on having a sponsor school will eliminate many of the spitball ideas from rinks in the West, since there are few schools who would be willing to do something like Michigan Tech did as the host school in Green Bay. The hotels within walking distance requirement is obviously not enforced strictly, knowing that Bridgeport in particular is still involved. Parking lot control seems petty, but well within what you'd expect from the NCAA. The 75 person TV crew requirement was laughable, no regional site ever will even have half of that. The 80-20 split of revenues after expenses in favor of the NCAA is also very discouraging for hosts, that should be reduced if they really want to attract new sites.

I'm even more convinced that Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo would be a very suitable venue, now that it's apparent that it ticks most of the boxes as a facility (outside of pressbox space). The rub now is getting WMU to commit as the host school, especially after they took a financial bath on the Grand Rapids regionals.

A lot of arenas will set up temporary press space in general seating areas or concourses if required. I only remember one walkable hotel in Bridgeport, the Holiday Inn that's about 6 or so blocks away.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

A lot of arenas will set up temporary press space in general seating areas or concourses if required.

Glad you mentioned this. I was going to mention this last week. It's been fairly effective in getting the job done too, although I guess we'd have to poll the media folks that have dealt with the temporary press staging in some of the stands to be sure.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I have found that if the media people are fed well, other inconveniences are diminished. :)
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

I have found that if the media people are fed well, other inconveniences are diminished. :)

One suspects (although I guess Ed doesn't have to merely suspect) that a media member who is accustomed to covering college hockey is also accustomed to some pretty bare-bones working conditions.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

One suspects (although I guess Ed doesn't have to merely suspect) that a media member who is accustomed to covering college hockey is also accustomed to some pretty bare-bones working conditions.

That's true. Generally if there's a place to watch the game, a place to set up your laptop, good internet and then access to players and coaches, everyone is pretty content.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

That's true. Generally if there's a place to watch the game, a place to set up your laptop, good internet and then access to players and coaches, everyone is pretty content.

Sidebar question. How bad is the internet and/or cell coverage at most places you go? Both on an off dedicated media sources.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

The only thing you can say about that is the NCAA is more concerned with their own bottom line than they are about fairness, or fan experience, or any such thing.

Those demands are ridiculous, and I don't blame any arena for not wanting to be part of a bid.

"Pay us 150,00 off the top."
Then, you're responsible for all the costs. No charge to us for anything we set up.
You pay the labor to put up the NCAA signage.
And, at the end, if you make a profit, we take 80% of it.

Forget that. I wouldn't bid. NO. WAY.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

Sidebar question. How bad is the internet and/or cell coverage at most places you go? Both on an off dedicated media sources.

These days, it's usually good. Buffalo had very good WiFi throughout the building and dedicated ethernet at every seat in the press box. Sometimes arenas bring in extra networking and WiFi in the press workroom.

Sometimes cell data can be an issue at arenas but that seems to be less of a problem lately as well.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

The only thing you can say about that is the NCAA is more concerned with their own bottom line than they are about fairness, or fan experience, or any such thing.

Those demands are ridiculous, and I don't blame any arena for not wanting to be part of a bid.

"Pay us 150,00 off the top."
Then, you're responsible for all the costs. No charge to us for anything we set up.
You pay the labor to put up the NCAA signage.
And, at the end, if you make a profit, we take 80% of it.

Forget that. I wouldn't bid. NO. WAY.

That 80% thing, while not news, is massively f-cked up.
 
Re: NCAA Regionals Must be on campus

The only thing you can say about that is the NCAA is more concerned with their own bottom line than they are about fairness, or fan experience, or any such thing.

Those demands are ridiculous, and I don't blame any arena for not wanting to be part of a bid.

"Pay us 150,00 off the top."
Then, you're responsible for all the costs. No charge to us for anything we set up.
You pay the labor to put up the NCAA signage.
And, at the end, if you make a profit, we take 80% of it.

Forget that. I wouldn't bid. NO. WAY.

The *host* RECEIVES the lesser of budgeted or actual expenses -- so the NCAA pays for expenses. Really, they pay for expenses over the $150k, since they're guaranteed that amount regardless. The profit sharing is indeed BS though. Greedy mofos.

Hotel requirements are not met by Loveland, so that's clearly more of a desire...i imagine some of the spacial requirements are also just desires, in the end.

r
 
The only thing you can say about that is the NCAA is more concerned with their own bottom line than they are about fairness, or fan experience, or any such thing.

Those demands are ridiculous, and I don't blame any arena for not wanting to be part of a bid.

"Pay us 150,00 off the top."
Then, you're responsible for all the costs. No charge to us for anything we set up.
You pay the labor to put up the NCAA signage.
And, at the end, if you make a profit, we take 80% of it.

Forget that. I wouldn't bid. NO. WAY.
Yep. That's why I'm glad Portland lost. The break even point was probably 3000 fans at each of the three games, and even if every game was a sellout you're looking at under $100K profit. Way too much risk for such a little reward.
 
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