Nashville making bid for Frozen Four

[nomorekids]

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110118/SPORTS06/101180328/Nashville+to+make+Frozen+Four+bid

I was really impressed with their presentation of a relatively minor hockey series over the weekend. Hope this comes to pass.

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[tarheelhockey]

Good for them. Whether they get it or not, it's cool that they're trying.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Good for them. Whether they get it or not, it's cool that they're trying.

Totally agree.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

I'll also join the chorus of those who agree. It'd be sweet if Nashville go it. I also have to say I think it'd be cool if a city like Nashville or Atlanta put in a bid to host the World Juniors for 2018.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The thing about Nashville, it's a perfect place to host that kind of event. The weather is suitably cold (so you don't feel like you're at the Pro Bowl or something) but it's mild and unlikely to be problematic. The downtown area around the arena is a TON of fun, especially for people looking for something they wouldn't see back home. And it's a big enough city to easily handle the hotels, conference space, etc.

The only downside is the freshmen and sophomores can't go to the bars

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Would love to see this in Nashville. It's a great event in a fun city.

 

[Spydey629]

Vanderbilt and Tennessee would not be among them, however, as they currently field only club-level teams in hockey.

Not necessarily true. Navy "only has a club team" and they were the host school for the DC bid.

 

[Colin226]

Very nice to see a southern area considered for a big hockey event

 

[MAROONSRoad]

I'll also join the chorus of those who agree. It'd be sweet if Nashville go it. I also have to say I think it'd be cool if a city like Nashville or Atlanta put in a bid to host the World Juniors for 2018.

That would be a huge risk in terms of attendance since the tournament is almost unknown in the USA outside of the hockey playing community. There's a reason they placed the last two US-based tournaments in cities adjacent to the Canadian border, Grand Forks, ND (Winnipeg) and Buffalo, NY (southern Ontario). Most of the fans in attendance at those tournaments were Canadians.

GHOST

 

[tarheelhockey]

I agree that the WJC is a stretch. Start small, work up.

edit: Didn't mean to imply the Frozen Four is "small", just smallER.

 

[BigFatCat999]

I agree about the juniors. Historically, the Juniors always seemed an extension of the Summit Series of the past. Final Four is perfect for Nashville. I'm hoping this becomes a spark of pulling more southern schools to hockey and maybe, unthinkable, an SEC for hockey.

 

[Evil Doctor]

I agree that the WJC is a stretch. Start small, work up.

edit: Didn't mean to imply the Frozen Four is "small", just smallER.

I'm glad you added the qualifier. Though it gets virtually no press in Canada, it's probably the most important amateur hockey tournament in the United States. How this fares in Nashville will be a gauge on how hockey is faring in the music city...

 

[garnetpalmetto]

That would be a huge risk in terms of attendance since the tournament is almost unknown in the USA outside of the hockey playing community. There's a reason they placed the last two US-based tournaments in cities adjacent to the Canadian border, Grand Forks, ND (Winnipeg) and Buffalo, NY (southern Ontario). Most of the fans in attendance at those tournaments were Canadians.

GHOST

So's the Frozen Four, though. And what's to stop those fans from traveling to a city like Nashville or Atlanta? Surely those are more attractive destinations than Grand Forks, for instance.

 

[Fidel Astro]

So's the Frozen Four, though. And what's to stop those fans from traveling to a city like Nashville or Atlanta? Surely those are more attractive destinations than Grand Forks, for instance.

Grand Forks is a hell of a lot closer, though. If you're going to Atlanta, you pretty much have to make a whole vacation out of it, as you'll either be flying or doing some epic drive (which will take days and days, so you'll have to take a bunch of time off work), whereas you can just drive from Winnipeg to Grand Forks (for example) for the weekend and come back home.

I think you would definitely have fewer Canadian fans down there (although there would certainly be a strong contingent anyway) than you would in somewhere closer to the border.

 

[SilverNitro23]

Nashville would make a great trip if the RIT hockey team makes it into the Frozen Four again that year. I hope they get it.

 

[HabsByTheBay]

So's the Frozen Four, though. And what's to stop those fans from traveling to a city like Nashville or Atlanta? Surely those are more attractive destinations than Grand Forks, for instance.

There is a strong captive audience for the Frozen Four - college hockey fans, and people who went to the schools involved. If Minnesota gets in the Frozen Four, half the state is going.

What is the captive audience in the United States for WJC? It just doesn't seem like a lot of Americans are interested in the WJC compared to college hockey. Attendances in Boston in 1996 were pretty poor, meaning USA Hockey is going to be loath to host a tournament away from the border.

 

[LadyStanley]

San Jose State (club team) has put in a bid to host Frozen Four (and even regional play) at the Tank in the past as well.

 

[MaskedSonja]

This is good to hear

 

[IU Hawks fan]

I agree about the juniors. Historically, the Juniors always seemed an extension of the Summit Series of the past. Final Four is perfect for Nashville. I'm hoping this becomes a spark of pulling more southern schools to hockey and maybe, unthinkable, an SEC for hockey.

x10

Not 1 of the regular conferences has hockey.

 

[danishh]

x10

Not 1 of the regular conferences has hockey.

some of the US hockey conferences are weird. Main issue is that outside of the NE, not many schools have top hockey programs, so the traditional football/bball conferences dont really work.

Of the stranger things:
Why is USAF in the atlantic?
Why is alaska in the CCHA?
ECAC makes sense, basically the Ivy League + some liberty league teams and some other private schools with good hockey programs.
Hockey East also makes sense, and it has two big east teams.
WCHA is wierd. You'd think fairbanks and USAF would just join them, and let MTU and OSU go to the CCHA.

and then there is alabama-huntsville, the only southern college hockey program.

 

[CommunistDayKare]

We're actually hosting the NCAA Frozen Four in 2012

 

[StevenintheATL]

Very nice to see a southern area considered for a big hockey event

Tampa is hosting the Frozen Four in 2012 with the University of Alabama-Huntsville being the host for it. Hopefully this leads to more Southern cities making bids for the Frozen Four or at least the regionals.

I would love to see more major hockey events like the Frozen Four or the World Juniors played in the south. Wouldn't folks rather be somewhere warm like South Florida for the World Juniors instead of snowy climes? Go watch a hockey game then go to the beach......

 

[nomorekids]

Tampa is hosting the Frozen Four in 2012 with the University of Alabama-Huntsville being the host for it. Hopefully this leads to more Southern cities making bids for the Frozen Four or at least the regionals.

I would love to see more major hockey events like the Frozen Four or the World Juniors played in the south. Wouldn't folks rather be somewhere warm like South Florida for the World Juniors instead of snowy climes? Go watch a hockey game then go to the beach......

There was an interview with the Preds new CEO(formerly with the Lightning and Stars), and he basically said that getting Tampa the frozen four was his project, beginning in about 2002.

This isn't really just a statement he's making, like, "we'd like to do this," there's already planning and a roadmap being set out for how to do it and when it will happen. They plan to make their first formal pitch to the NCAA in the fall, with a target of getting the 2015 or 16 tournament. Henry said that it's a matter of when rather than if, and something they won't back down on.

 

[Duke749]

This is very nice to hear. Nashville is really making headway in the south.

 

[tarheelhockey]

x10

Not 1 of the regular conferences has hockey.

Thinking forward, it would be easier to pull off in a place where there aren't yet any hockey-only conferences. There's nobody to object to an SEC-based alignment as long as the programs are there.