Russell Jaslow
Registered User
Correct. Which is why they only added women’s hockey a few years ago.
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U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
- Thread starter 4four4
- Start date
Correct. Which is why they only added women’s hockey a few years ago.
ExileOnDaytonStreet
Drunkard
I’m basing it off of Trefzger’s comments on the USCHO podcasts this year and the part where the DMV (if you consider DC, Maryland, and Virginia as a collective state) is probably the market most underserved by non-NHL hockey teams in the nation.
Sol Diablo
Active member
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
I'm going with the UC Irvine Anteaters as the mysterious missing team being alluded to......
https://thehockeywriters.com/college-hockey-start-california/
I'm going with the UC Irvine Anteaters as the mysterious missing team being alluded to......
https://thehockeywriters.com/college-hockey-start-california/
Split-N
All Hail
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
There have been rumors and speculation involving Navy going back at least 30 years--sometimes involving Maryland (20 miles away) coming along with it--but amounting to nothing more than what the Navy would call "Scuttlebutt."
Interestingly, Navy has had a consistently competitive ACHA D1 club team for years so hockey is not unknown in Annapolis. But if the academy had any varsity hockey intentions, it almost certainly would have designed the new rink it built not so many years back to meet NCAA D1 minimums. It didn't.
All of that being said, the Washington Caps are wildly popular in the DMV and youth hockey in this part of the world is stronger than it has ever been. So D1 college hockey at places like Navy, Maryland, and George Mason would likely have success. As noted, Navy already has a rink and George Mason has an ice-making capability at its Patriot Center arena. Georgetown and George Washington would very much be longshots as they would need to build arenas and have precious little available land on which to build anything.
But even without the current public health situation, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any of this to happen.
There have been rumors and speculation involving Navy going back at least 30 years--sometimes involving Maryland (20 miles away) coming along with it--but amounting to nothing more than what the Navy would call "Scuttlebutt."
Interestingly, Navy has had a consistently competitive ACHA D1 club team for years so hockey is not unknown in Annapolis. But if the academy had any varsity hockey intentions, it almost certainly would have designed the new rink it built not so many years back to meet NCAA D1 minimums. It didn't.
All of that being said, the Washington Caps are wildly popular in the DMV and youth hockey in this part of the world is stronger than it has ever been. So D1 college hockey at places like Navy, Maryland, and George Mason would likely have success. As noted, Navy already has a rink and George Mason has an ice-making capability at its Patriot Center arena. Georgetown and George Washington would very much be longshots as they would need to build arenas and have precious little available land on which to build anything.
But even without the current public health situation, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any of this to happen.
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Patman
Rodent of Unusual Size
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
But show place arena!
Yeah, Navy buried their opportunity when they built their new rink (with donated money) with the express purpose of having indoor tennis courts. GMU is the most likely option. There are no venues in that 2k range. In theory I think you could do some retrofitting at the St James (inside beltway springfield, edsall road) with some money if a college wanted to go varsity to get to minimal standards... the St James is in an industrial area and has some $$$$ behind the operation as they consider themselves a premier facility with an indoor football/soccer field amongst other things. I think MedStar in Arlington might sit 1k... but yeah
But show place arena!
Yeah, Navy buried their opportunity when they built their new rink (with donated money) with the express purpose of having indoor tennis courts. GMU is the most likely option. There are no venues in that 2k range. In theory I think you could do some retrofitting at the St James (inside beltway springfield, edsall road) with some money if a college wanted to go varsity to get to minimal standards... the St James is in an industrial area and has some $$$$ behind the operation as they consider themselves a premier facility with an indoor football/soccer field amongst other things. I think MedStar in Arlington might sit 1k... but yeah
Terry Switzer
New member
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
As an old retired sailor, I want a Navy team, maybe they can do better that Wisconsin right now.
As an old retired sailor, I want a Navy team, maybe they can do better that Wisconsin right now.
UncleRay
M-A-I-N-E, GooOOO, Blue!
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
A Navy team of old retired sailors could do better than Wisconsin these days!
Terry Switzer
New member
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
Sad part Ray, you could be right.
Sad part Ray, you could be right.
Split-N
All Hail
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
WHOA! Maybe Navy starting D1 hockey isn't such a pipe dream after all. Following is an excerpt from a tweet by Mike McMahon, of College Hockey News:
"...Been told by enough people that the AHA is holding out hope that Navy will go D1 soon, and lots of people believe that is in the works and in the planning stages. If you're asking me, expect Navy in AHA."
WHOA! Maybe Navy starting D1 hockey isn't such a pipe dream after all. Following is an excerpt from a tweet by Mike McMahon, of College Hockey News:
"...Been told by enough people that the AHA is holding out hope that Navy will go D1 soon, and lots of people believe that is in the works and in the planning stages. If you're asking me, expect Navy in AHA."
JohnsonsJerseys
Michigan Tech Fan
The Zlax45
Registered User
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
Liberty would be my pick in that area...They pack the house for Club Hockey and even have games on ESPN+.
Liberty would be my pick in that area...They pack the house for Club Hockey and even have games on ESPN+.
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Split-N
All Hail
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
I've been there and can verify the "pack the house" comment. And when they go on the road (principally in MD, VA, and the Carolinas) they'll bring along several fan buses. However, Lynchburg is literally in the middle of nowhere, isolated in the southern part of Virginia, and nowhere close to the DC metro area. Very hard to get to. Arena layout is a bit odd--bleachers on the sides but most of the seats are on one end. Seats ~3K.
I've been there and can verify the "pack the house" comment. And when they go on the road (principally in MD, VA, and the Carolinas) they'll bring along several fan buses. However, Lynchburg is literally in the middle of nowhere, isolated in the southern part of Virginia, and nowhere close to the DC metro area. Very hard to get to. Arena layout is a bit odd--bleachers on the sides but most of the seats are on one end. Seats ~3K.
Russell Jaslow
Registered User
Re: U of Illinois AD & NHL joint press conference
I've been to Lynchburg on business. I can definitely attest to this!
I've been to Lynchburg on business. I can definitely attest to this!
And, Liberty may be the only college or university open for education as usual, as opposed to remote learning in the 2020-2021 academic year.
The Athletic Director, Josh Whitman, will be holding his annual media round table meeting on June 16th. It’s usually a pretty thorough end of year type review with a look ahead. I have to imagine hockey will be addressed in some fashion. Not saying I’m optimistic, but hopefully there will be something insightful.
The Daily Illini reported an update that the Champaign mass transit center expansion project is progressing.
https://dailyillini.com/news/2021/06/04/cumtd-continues-illinois-terminal-expansion-project/
As a reminder, a private developer is working on hotel and retail space next door. The two projects will share mixed use space and a parking deck. This private developer is also the one pitching the hockey arena next door that U of I would use.
The small nugget of interest from the article is that the city is still receiving funding from Core Champaign Hockey LLC for the mixed use space and parking deck. Renderings on the environmental impact still show the neighboring arena. Small things, but they hint at the arena is still in the planning process.
https://dailyillini.com/news/2021/06/04/cumtd-continues-illinois-terminal-expansion-project/
As a reminder, a private developer is working on hotel and retail space next door. The two projects will share mixed use space and a parking deck. This private developer is also the one pitching the hockey arena next door that U of I would use.
The small nugget of interest from the article is that the city is still receiving funding from Core Champaign Hockey LLC for the mixed use space and parking deck. Renderings on the environmental impact still show the neighboring arena. Small things, but they hint at the arena is still in the planning process.
Ah crap. Nothing definitive. The school and its community partners (i.e. the private developer) are just restarting conversations now to see if they have better “financial clarity.” So basically wait some more and who knows.
https://247sports.com/college/illino.../#166631767_10
On the hockey project, Whitman said the athletics department and its community partners decided to halt those discussions when the pandemic hit and just started to re-open discussions about the expensive project, which he said they were very close to green-lighting before the pandemic.
"We’ve had a few emails and back and forth with people about getting the band back together, so to speak," Whitman said.
Whitman added that the Illini and its partners will need financial clarity but that "we'll come back and see where we're at," though he didn't want to put a timeline on the project. Whitman said he feels obligated to figure out if the project is still feasible after the pandemic but not obligated to complete the project.
“We had walked it so far down the road, that we can’t just walk away from it," Whitman said.
https://247sports.com/college/illino.../#166631767_10
On the hockey project, Whitman said the athletics department and its community partners decided to halt those discussions when the pandemic hit and just started to re-open discussions about the expensive project, which he said they were very close to green-lighting before the pandemic.
"We’ve had a few emails and back and forth with people about getting the band back together, so to speak," Whitman said.
Whitman added that the Illini and its partners will need financial clarity but that "we'll come back and see where we're at," though he didn't want to put a timeline on the project. Whitman said he feels obligated to figure out if the project is still feasible after the pandemic but not obligated to complete the project.
“We had walked it so far down the road, that we can’t just walk away from it," Whitman said.
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Split-N
All Hail
So neither the University of Illinois nor any of its "community partners" managed to discover Zoom/Slack/Microsoft Teams during the pandemic, as did the rest of the world? The only thing this thread is good for is material for amateur night at the Improv.