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So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

A

altazo

who the hello?
One of the ongoing debates on this forum has to do with the D3 semifinals and championship being hosted at campus sites vs larger, neutral, pre-determined venues. There are pluses and minuses to both. The big concern with campus sites is that everyone who would like to attend would not be able to and the concern with places like Lake Placid is a huge, empty arena.

So, with Point hosting in their modest sized home a couple weeks ago, how does everyone think it went? Personally, I enjoyed the packed house and home team fans, but does anyone (particularly from Norwich, Geneseo, or Hobart) have any horror stories about Granny traveling all the way from Sweden only to be denied entry? I know we have some SID’s on this forum. Has anyone’s opinion that it should only be hosted in a big empty arena with bottomless seating been swayed to the other side, or no?

I also realize if this year had been hosted in the East, the likelihood of people being turned away would have likely increased.
 
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Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

altazo said:
One of the ongoing debates on this forum has to do with the D3 semifinals and championship being hosted at campus sites vs larger, neutral, pre-determined venues. There are pluses and minuses to both. The big concern with campus sites is that everyone who would like to attend would not be able to and the concern with places like Lake Placid is a huge, empty arena.

So, with Point hosting in their modest sized home a couple weeks ago, how does everyone think it went? Personally, I enjoyed the packed house and home team fans, but does anyone (particularly from Norwich, Geneseo, or Hobart) have any horror stories about Granny traveling from Sweden and being denied entry? I know we have some SID’s on this forum. Has anyone’s opinion that it should only be hosted in a big empty arena with bottomless seating been swayed to the other side, or no?

I also realize if this year had been hosted in the East, the likelihood of people being turned away would have likely increased.
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This isn't Stevens Point's fault but is more on the NCAA travel department than anything...Geneseo arriving at the hotel at 1/1:30 a.m. on Thursday morning I wouldn't say is very conducive to a rewarding championship experience for the student-athletes.

The only other thing I'll say was problematic was tickets. Campus sites with a seating capacity of 1500 eliminates casual fans of Division III hockey from being able to attend in more cases than not. The only reason Pete99race (SNC fan) was able to attend the championship game, was because I held tickets for him out of the Norwich block for the finals. He wasn't able to get tickets for the Stevens Point/Hobart game.

Also, there was going to be a big ticket problem if Hobart had beat Stevens Point in the semifinals. Norwich had a group of about 100 and I think Hobart was closer to 200. I believe there were only 200ish tickets set aside for the advancing teams. So how does that ticket problem get solved when you've got 300 or more people wanting 200 seats.

All in all Stevens Point I thought did a great job with hosting the event in the time/capacity constraints they had. The Thursday night banquet was first class and at a beautiful venue at Sentry World Country Club. The atmosphere was great for all three games (even more for the Point games). Having the pep band there is a huge addition to the atmosphere.

Point provided a blue print that it still can be done, it just presents some much different issues than we haven't had to deal with since 2005.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

On a similar note, is it true that the Harborcenter rink for 2020 only has a capacity of 1800? Even as a neutral site, it may not be very easy for fans if multiple of the central/western NY teams make it.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

If Geneseo/Oswego are in that FF, tickets will be a concern again. If neither of those are there and barring a miraculous run by Fredonia or Buffalo State, I don't think seating should be a huge issue for that, but I could be wrong.

If anyone has looked at the D-I Frozen Four, the casual fan has not shown up at First Niagara this year...13,000 fans in a 19,000 seat arena. However, I think the $300 price tag for all-session passes might be the biggest reason for that.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

I wasn't there, of course, but one thing I would not have liked was the ticketing of individual games for the semi finals. One of the neat things to experience at the FF is the opportunity to see all four teams in action. When they don't sell a single package for all three games, that opportunity is lost for the casual fan. Seeing both semis is part of the fun experience. I can remember going to LP, seeing semi #1, and then going out walking around between games to take in the atmosphere, and going back in to see more hockey. It wouldn't be the same without the opportunity to see all 3 games. Even with the on-campus tournaments at NU and Middlebury that I have attended, semi-final day was a big deal. Of course, I'm old, and things were always better in the old days, so discount that if you like.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

NUProf said:
I wasn't there, of course, but one thing I would not have liked was the ticketing of individual games for the semi finals. One of the neat things to experience at the FF is the opportunity to see all four teams in action. When they don't sell a single package for all three games, that opportunity is lost for the casual fan. Seeing both semis is part of the fun experience.
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Agreed 100%
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

The lack of an all session ticket package was my biggest complaint...had to scramble to get tickets to two of the three games....
 
pete99race said:
The lack of an all session ticket package was my biggest complaint...had to scramble to get tickets to two of the three games....
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The fear is you get 4 small campus sites that survive the QF.

CCC
bottom end NEHC
Adrian
Stevenson/Neuman
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

joecct said:
true, but what if the 4 survivors are below minimums?
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I would think they have to choose a bid that meets minimum seating requirements even it ends up being neutral. On the women's side, which has always used participant sites, sent the championship weekend to Superior, WI in 2013 because it had to go West due to the four year rule and GAC couldn't host.
 
pete99race said:
The lack of an all session ticket package was my biggest complaint...had to scramble to get tickets to two of the three games....
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IMO, nothing will ever beat the insanity that was the ticketing for the 2017 DIII Women’s Championship in Adrian. No advanced sales, individual ticket for each of the 4 games, so you had to leave after the first game of the day to get tickets to the second game (and by the time the early game ended, it was already a long line).

But the kicker for me was that procedure differed from game to game. For neutral games, the seating was General Admission. For the games involving Adrian, it was assigned seating... but the section was determined by which team you were supporting, and your row/seat was determined strictly by your order in line (I.e. the first person in line had no choice but seat A1). The whole thing was obnoxious and far from fan-friendly. Even the home-team fans were moaning about how stupid it was.

After that experience, I will ALWAYS be a supporter of the neutral site.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

Are there any neutral sites with a facility in the 3000-4000 seat capacity? While it's great to get the atmosphere of a top seed rink I agree that there is the possibility of a real sub-standard rink ending up as the championship venue. For travelling fans, especially families that might be coming from a very far way, a lack of tickets is unacceptable. A mid- sized facility (I have no idea where) will still have a decent atmosphere. Any suggestions? Something half the size of Lake Placid could work well.
 
MELIN27 said:
Are there any neutral sites with a facility in the 3000-4000 seat capacity? While it's great to get the atmosphere of a top seed rink I agree that there is the possibility of a real sub-standard rink ending up as the championship venue. For travelling fans, especially families that might be coming from a very far way, a lack of tickets is unacceptable. A mid- sized facility (I have no idea where) will still have a decent atmosphere. Any suggestions? Something half the size of Lake Placid could work well.
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There are tons of minor league hockey rinks that fit that description. The hard part is finding a school or organization to do the work in hosting at a neutral site like that when the possibility exists that their team won’t be in the final four.
 
MELIN27 said:
Are there any neutral sites with a facility in the 3000-4000 seat capacity? While it's great to get the atmosphere of a top seed rink I agree that there is the possibility of a real sub-standard rink ending up as the championship venue. For travelling fans, especially families that might be coming from a very far way, a lack of tickets is unacceptable. A mid- sized facility (I have no idea where) will still have a decent atmosphere. Any suggestions? Something half the size of Lake Placid could work well.
Click to expand...

Some of the rinks used by women’s teams at big time schools fit perfectly and I know of at least one (Ridder Arena at U Minnesota) that has been used before. LaBahn Arena at U Wisconsin would also be a great option.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

I've always said that Dartmouth or UVM would be great options, but it would require a lot of cooperation to get it done. Both facilities have capacities in the 3-4,000 range and are close to multiple DIII schools.
 
NUProf said:
I've always said that Dartmouth or UVM would be great options, but it would require a lot of cooperation to get it done. Both facilities have capacities in the 3-4,000 range and are close to multiple DIII schools.
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There are a ton of Eastern D1 rinks that would be perfect, but their conference championships will always create an issue, and likely preclude that possibility.

The Gutt would be great. I also thought Ridder would be great, but that didn’t work out all that well.

r
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

I wish they had it in larger cities more often just for the ease of travel. Boston, New York, Philly, Minneapolis, Milwaukee would be great. It's not exactly easy to get to Stevens Point or Oswego or Lake Placid or Lewiston if you're traveling from the other region.
 
Re: So, How Did The Campus Site Work Out?

KnightsOfTheRound said:
I wish they had it in larger cities more often just for the ease of travel. Boston, New York, Philly, Minneapolis, Milwaukee would be great. It's not exactly easy to get to Stevens Point or Oswego or Lake Placid or Lewiston if you're traveling from the other region.
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The idea of hosting in a city with airports that typically have economical nationwide flights would not only benefit the fans but the NCAA as well. The only logical reason this is not done is the lack of stakeholders willing to undertake the logistics of planning.

Sometimes the most logical and practical solution is the one most difficult to implement :(
 
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