June
23, 2005
D.C.,
Detroit, St. Paul and Tampa to Host Frozen Fours
Committee announces four sites, plus
NCAA Regionals
By
Nate Ewell
| Future
Frozen Four Sites |
| 2006 |
Milwaukee |
| Look
forward to: Bratwurst. |
| Be
wary of: Anyone on the organizing committee who says, "We
plan to run this just like Bud Selig would." |
| 2007 |
St.
Louis |
| Look
forward to: Views of the arch and tours at Anheuser-Busch. |
| Be
wary of: Affordable hotel rates in East St. Louis. |
| 2008 |
Denver |
| Look
forward to: Magnificent views of the Rockies and a nice
steak from the Chop House, a favorite hangout of the Colorado
Avalanche. |
| Be
wary of: The thin air, which will affect the teams on the
ice and your tolerance at the bars in LoDo. |
| 2009 |
Washington,
D.C. |
| Look
forward to: Touring the Smithsonian museums and the monuments
on Friday ... and not having to pay for any of it. |
| Be
wary of: The eighth-grade class trips that flood the city
every April for those same reasons. |
| 2010 |
Detroit |
| Look
forward to: The Frozen Four stepping onto its biggest stage
ever. |
| Be
wary of: Anyone who stresses the importance of the size
of the stage when the arena is two-thirds empty. |
| 2011 |
St.
Paul |
| Look
forward to: Another visit to the Xcel Center, the nicest
hockey arena in the world. |
| Be
wary of: A much different atmosphere if the Gophers don't
make the field. |
| 2012 |
Tampa |
| Look
forward to: Debates over what to do Friday: golf or the
beach? |
| Be
wary of: Anyone who mispronounces the city's nightlife hot
spot, Ybor City (hint: it sounds a lot like Eeyore of Winnie
the Pooh fame). |
The NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Committee announced the winning bids for the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Frozen Fours on Thursday, a group that includes two first-time hosts (Washington, D.C. in 2009, and Tampa in 2012), the first football stadium to host the event (Detroit's Ford Field in 2010) and a return to one of the most successful sites in the event's history (St. Paul in 2011).
The committee elected to award four future sites, rather than the three it initially set out to determine, thanks to the strength of the bids. The committee nearly awarded bids to all six finalists, before backing off and leaving Boston and Philadelphia out of the mix until the next bid cycle.
"All six sites were so good, it was seriously considered to award six years, through 2014," said committee chairman Wayne Dean. "In the final analysis the committee just didn't have the comfort level that it needed to go out to 2014."
The committee also selected regional sites through 2009 (see box, below right) and East and Northeast Regional sites for 2010 and 2011. The Midwest and West Regional sites for those years will be announced in 2007; the committee postponed those selections in hopes of attracting more bids from neutral sites. All four Eastern sites chosen for regionals are neutral-site arenas, while three of the four selected for the 2008 and '09 Midwest and West Regionals are campus rinks.
Among the Frozen Four sites selected, Detroit is the most unique, due to its venue at Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions. The stadium configuration has not been finalized, but it could feature a temporary rink erected at the center of the field.
"We're looking at some different possible configurations," said NCAA Director of Championships Tom Jacobs. "Probably in the neighborhood of 65,000 seats, with seats going right down to the boards."
The committee did not express concern at the possibility of tens of thousands of empty seats at the sport's premier event; rather excitement at the possibility of filling those seats.
"I'd say it's a challenge," said Dean. "We talked extensively with the people in Detroit and the CCHA, and we're confident that we can fill the place up. It provides an opportunity for people who otherwise might not see a Frozen Four to attend.
| Future
Regional Sites |
| 2006 |
| East |
Albany,
N.Y. |
| Midwest |
Green
Bay, Wis. |
| Northeast |
Worcester,
Mass. |
| West |
Grand
Forks, N.D. |
| 2007 |
| East |
Rochester,
N.Y. |
| Midwest |
Grand
Rapids, Mich. |
| Northeast |
Manchester,
N.H. |
| West |
Denver,
Colo. |
| 2008
(March 28-30) |
| East |
Albany,
N.Y. |
| Midwest |
Madison,
Wis. |
| Northeast |
Worcester,
Mass. |
| West |
Colorado
Springs, Colo. |
| 2009
(March 27-29) |
| East |
Bridgeport,
Conn. |
| Midwest |
Grand
Rapids, Mich. |
| Northeast |
Manchester,
N.H. |
| West |
Minneapolis,
Minn. |
| 2010
(March 26-28) |
| East |
Albany,
N.Y. |
| Midwest |
TBA |
| Northeast |
Worcester,
Mass. |
| West |
TBA |
| 2011
(March 25-27) |
| East |
Bridgeport,
Conn. |
| Midwest |
TBA |
| Northeast |
Manchester,
N.H. |
| West |
TBA |
"This is not an experiment," Dean added. "This is a sure thing. We feel that this will just be a great experience for every student-athlete who plays in the games and every fan that attends."
The city of Detroit will be hosting its sixth Frozen Four, most recently in 1990. St. Paul is the other repeat host among the four selections, having been home to four previous Frozen Fours. The most recent, in 2002, was held at the Xcel Energy Center, which will also host the 2011 event. That event set attendance records as Minnesota won its first of back-to-back titles.
"It was a terrific experience in 2002," said Jacobs, "one we look forward to repeating."
The other two sites, Washington, D.C., and Tampa, will be first-time hosts. In both cases, Dean and Jacobs praised the building, the host institutions and each city's sports commission for their presentations.
Also earning praise was the proximity of attractions in each city – for D.C., monuments and other unique aspects of the nation's capital, and for Tampa, th opportunity to enjoy the beach and other warm-weather attractions.
Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee – a former Hobey Baker winner at Bowling Green who attends the Frozen Four annually – stressed that fans will find not just a great city to visit, but a thriving hockey community as well.
"This is a strong hockey market," he said. "An NHL team has been here more than 30 years, young players are developing here and playing Division I hockey, and youth hockey is growing at a staggering rate. This tournament will be a great showcase for the community, and Washington in turn will be a great host for the student-athletes and fans who come to the city."
The Naval Academy is the host school for the Washington bid, the only one of the four hosts without a tie to Division I hockey. While there's hope for that to change in the future, Dean said that it was not a factor in awarding the bid.
| McPhee's a Fan |
| George McPhee, the Washington Capitals general manager and former Hobey Baker winner, attends the Frozen Four each year, giving him a unique perspective on why so many cities hope to host the event.
"It's a terrific tournament with a great environment in the building," he said. "It represents everything that's great about hockey – family, education, a great game on the ice and tremendous entertainment for fans." |
"We'll let the Naval Academy comment on [the possiblity of elevating their club program]," he said. "Looking at that bid, having them involved in any capacity is great."
Tampa will become the Southern-most city to host a Frozen Four, but the home of the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning was not seen as a non-traditional market.
"Hockey is alive and well there," said Dean. "Some would say it's a non-traditional city, but with what we saw, we thought it was a very viable market for our sport."
The omission of Boston from the list of four cities selected may have been the biggest surprise of the announcement. Dean said the limited amount of time since Boston hosted in 2004 was probably its biggest drawback. He said that the strength of the bids for the event may lead to a nine- or 10-year gap between cities that are "regular" hosts for the event, rather than the four- or five-year gaps they may have seen in the past. St. Paul, for example, will be hosting nine years after its most recent Frozen Four.
