Could Cornell be a host team?

Don't know if this was ever discussed or not but is there a possible scenario where we would be a host? I know it wouldn't be at Lynah but would that rule us out? Wait..I've got it...convert the Carrier Dome to a hockey rink for a weekend and we'll host it! Then, if we barely made it in (#3 or #4 seed) we still could get the chance to play a CCHA or WCHA #1 or #2 in OUR neck of the woods.

I'm just sick and tired of Minny, Denver, BU, UNH, Michigan, Wisc, etc, getting "home cooking" all the time. And now Yale is in the mix? I know, I know the NC$$ does it this way to hopefully fill seats but they need to change the critera. If you're a one seed then fine stay at home. Any seed worse than that and all bets are off.

How about Broome County Arena in Binghamton? I haven't been there but it seats 6,800 and is home to an AHL team. Probably still too small? Hey, they had the AHL all-star game there so it must be big enough.

More importantly, what can a small group of highly interested alums with no connection to the athletic department do to encourage Cornell to put together a bid?

Is it a money thing? If we made it and the regional was in Syracuse, Binghamton, etc., attendance would be no issue and you'd pretty much guarantee a break even, if not an overall profit.

Given that playing in familiar territory is such a major boost to the chances of winning a national championship, I can't think of any reason that we haven't hosted in the last few decades. It's our most visible sport, and like someone else mentioned, Yale can pull it off. Hell, Canisius hosted the Frozen Four.

Who can I call to make it happen?

The closest place would be Rochester and they've had a Regional before. It requires a lot of organization and some risk. What if like the last couple of years CU doesn't make it. How many others want to come to Rochester? You could look up numbers for those games, but it wasn't a sellout and you're not going to get the casual HE or other fan to drive to Roch.

Yeah, it gets discussed almost every year right about this time. Quite the coincidence, I know. If only the forum were searchable...

Seems like the better site for Cornell to perhaps gain an advantage would be Albany. It hosts regionals and any year that Cornell makes it into the NCAAs probably means they at least made it to Albany. So that would give them two recent games played there to have some familiarity with rink conditions. And Cornell fans will clearly travel there and perhaps some other ECAC fans will turn out (RPI and Union) that might root for a League representative.

I think the only way would be for Cornell to host in Buffalo. Rochester and Syracuse aren't really big enough for the NCAA's taste anymore.

And like Albany, there are other schools which can more easily host in Buffalo than us.

JasonN95
Seems like the better site for Cornell to perhaps gain an advantage would be Albany. It hosts regionals and any year that Cornell makes it into the NCAAs probably means they at least made it to Albany. So that would give them two recent games played there to have some familiarity with rink conditions. And Cornell fans will clearly travel there and perhaps some other ECAC fans will turn out (RPI and Union) that might root for a League representative.

Strongly agree. Also, regionals have been co-hosted in the past (IIRC, Albany was hosted by RPI and Union), so putting together a co-hosting package with, say, Clarkson could spread the expense and risk.

Eventually college hockey tournaments need to come back to Madison Square Garden. It could be hosted by the Medical College.

billhoward
Eventually college hockey tournaments need to come back to Madison Square Garden. It could be hosted by the Medical College.

And the business school can host if it's ever played at a federal prison.

Trotsky

billhoward
Eventually college hockey tournaments need to come back to Madison Square Garden. It could be hosted by the Medical College.

And the business school can host if it's ever played at a federal prison.

Thank you.

they would be better off co-hosting with RIT/niagara. union/rpi very little chance they both get in and stuck in the same regional.. CU/Clark decent chance in past history. CU/RIT-Nia diff conf so it doesnt really matter.

and I wonder just how much cost we are talking about.. some organizational/promotional costs and what else? most costs are NCAAs to pick up.

I don't recall Union ever co-hosting with RPI at Albany. I think that the league has been a co-host.

upperdeck
they would be better off co-hosting with RIT/niagara. union/rpi very little chance they both get in and stuck in the same regional.. CU/Clark decent chance in past history. CU/RIT-Nia diff conf so it doesnt really matter.

and I wonder just how much cost we are talking about.. some organizational/promotional costs and what else? most costs are NCAAs to pick up.

Actually, as I understand it, most of the costs are the host's to "pick up" - the host rents the arena, does the promotion, etc, etc. Then the host collects the ticket revenue to (hopefully) cover their costs and (definitely) write a check to the NCAA for the agreed-upon amount per their bid to host the regional. Pretty much all the NCAA does is collect the check from the host.

I could be wrong, and I'm certainly over-simplifying, but to first order, I think that's correct.

Robb
Actually, as I understand it, most of the costs are the host's to "pick up" - the host rents the arena, does the promotion, etc, etc. Then the host collects the ticket revenue to (hopefully) cover their costs and (definitely) write a check to the NCAA for the agreed-upon amount per their bid to host the regional. Pretty much all the NCAA does is collect the check from the host.

I could be wrong, and I'm certainly over-simplifying, but to first order, I think that's correct.

No, the NCAA also callously and arbitrarily enforces their arcane and poorly publicized rules concerning the staging of tournament events.

Happy to help.

Beeeej
No, the NCAA also callously and arbitrarily enforces their arcane and poorly publicized rules concerning the staging of tournament events.

Unless you are planning on hosting an event yourself, I'm not sure how much effort the NCAA needs to put in to get the rules to you. If you were an AD I'm sure that you'd get an easy to read manual.

Trotsky

JasonN95
Seems like the better site for Cornell to perhaps gain an advantage would be Albany. It hosts regionals and any year that Cornell makes it into the NCAAs probably means they at least made it to Albany. So that would give them two recent games played there to have some familiarity with rink conditions. And Cornell fans will clearly travel there and perhaps some other ECAC fans will turn out (RPI and Union) that might root for a League representative.

Strongly agree. Also, regionals have been co-hosted in the past (IIRC, Albany was hosted by RPI and Union), so putting together a co-hosting package with, say, Clarkson could spread the expense and risk.

Do you still get automatic site placement as a co-host? If I recall correctly, at one point the ECAC hosted a regional - presumably not every team in the conference would get the benefit, but if RPI and Union were to somehow both make the tournament as co-hosts, would both then automatically get placed in Albany? Would they have to pre-designate one to get that benefit?

billhoward
Eventually college hockey tournaments need to come back to Madison Square Garden. It could be hosted by the Medical College.

Between the Rangers, the Knicks, the Circus taking over for almost three weeks every March-April, the NIT, and various concerts, I'd be very surprised to see NCAA hockey tournament games booked at MSG. There just isn't much time to shoehorn it in, and it's not lucrative enough to bump the engagements they already have. Here's MSG's calendar for the next month or so:

3/17 (open)
3/18 Rangers
3/19 Fleetwood Mac
3/20 Knicks
3/21 Rangers
3/22 Rangers
3/23 Knicks
3/24 Rangers
3/25 Knicks
3/26 Circus
3/27 Circus, Knicks
3/28 Circus, Circus, Circus
3/29 Circus, Circus
3/30 Rangers
3/31 NIT Basketball
4/1 Circus
4/2 NIT Basketball
4/3 Circus, Circus
4/4 Knicks
4/5 Circus, Circus, Circus
4/6 Circus, Circus
4/7 Rangers
4/8 Knicks
4/9 Rangers
4/10 Circus, Circus, Circus
4/11 Circus, Circus, Circus
4/12 Circus, Circus, Circus
4/13 Circus, Circus
4/14 Dave Matthews Band
4/15 Knicks

Booked every day, many days double-booked, the few concerts interspersed are guaranteed to sell 20,000 tickets. Beyond that there are a fair number of open dates, but those have to be left open (especially as far in advance as host bidding occurs) in case the Rangers and/or Knicks have to schedule home playoff games. When do you fit in a regional, or even the Frozen Four? I'd love to see NCAA tournament hockey at MSG as much as the next NYC-metro-area-residing hockey fan, but... let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

As much as it hurts to say it, it would be kind of nice to see one hosted at the Prudential Center in Newark. The arena is brand new and nice, has great sight lines everywhere. It is very easily accessible by PATH or train from NYC so you would get the benefits of having it in the NYC metro area. I would imagine Princeton would be the only team that would end up hosting that though.

Jacob '06
As much as it hurts to say it, it would be kind of nice to see one hosted at the Prudential Center in Newark. The arena is brand new and nice, has great sight lines everywhere. It is very easily accessible by PATH or train from NYC so you would get the benefits of having it in the NYC metro area. I would imagine Princeton would be the only team that would end up hosting that though.

but... it's in New Jersey!

It's a really nice arena. And they do a decent job of keeping it clean nearby. A little bit of a hassle to drive and park there (mostly after the game, trying to get out) even with the standard less than a full house of fans. The way they're playing the last couple of months people should get on board.

RatushnyFan
It's a really nice arena. And they do a decent job of keeping it clean nearby. A little bit of a hassle to drive and park there (mostly after the game, trying to get out) even with the standard less than a full house of fans. The way they're playing the last couple of months people should get on board.

The arena itself is nice; as a place to potentially host a regional or a Frozen Four, there's far too little around for it to be an appealing destination.

Josh '99
if RPI and Union were to somehow both make the tournament as co-hosts, would both then automatically get placed in Albany? Would they have to pre-designate one to get that benefit?

I'm pretty sure I've never seen any two eligible schools co-host a venue, and I'm willing to bet that the NCAA encourages this due to that quirk. This year's regional in Bridgeport is actually co-hosted by both Yale and Fairfield University. Fairfield doesn't even have a DIII program; their hockey team plays in the club-level division 3. It has been mentioned before in this thread, but when RPI co-hosts regionals, they do so with the league.

Frankly, this annual thread is moot because I'm confident that the Cornell Athletics department want nothing to do with any of the semantics (financial or organizational) that go with hosting a regional. Anywhere. And frankly, I don't think the current administration is even capable of it. Yeah, I went there.

RichH

Josh '99
if RPI and Union were to somehow both make the tournament as co-hosts, would both then automatically get placed in Albany? Would they have to pre-designate one to get that benefit?

I'm pretty sure I've never seen any two eligible schools co-host a venue, and I'm willing to bet that the NCAA encourages this due to that quirk. This year's regional in Bridgeport is actually co-hosted by both Yale and Fairfield University. Fairfield doesn't even have a DIII program; their hockey team plays in the club-level division 3. It has been mentioned before in this thread, but when RPI co-hosts regionals, they do so with the league.

Frankly, this annual thread is moot because I'm confident that the Cornell Athletics department want nothing to do with any of the semantics (financial or organizational) that go with hosting a regional. Anywhere. And frankly, I don't think the current administration is even capable of it. Yeah, I went there.

Well, I'm not going to discuss what they are capable of doing other than to say they run operations much bigger than a regional, but why would they ever want to run one when they don't have a venue to do it in? Roch. is the only reasonable choice and it's a not easy 2 hour drive away. It will never happen, period.

Josh '99
The arena itself is nice; as a place to potentially host a regional or a Frozen Four, there's far too little around for it to be an appealing destination.

Well, depends on what you mean, although I'll mostly disagree. There's a variety of things to do - people just don't know about them.

If you're talking about things to do within hours of a game, just a couple blocks from the arena is the Ironbound, a terrific dining destination. There's a variety of museums (NJ History Society, Newark Museum) & entertainment in Newark (NJPAC, Newark Symphony Hall, Bears & Eagles Stadium if baseball season has begun (possible for a FF) ).

If you're talking about after a game, its an easy PATH ride from Hoboken, the bar capital of NJ, or Jersey City, or Manhattan.

If you're talking about things to do on off-days, or well before games, its still an easy PATH ride from downtown or midtown Manhattan (which alone is endless possibilities), also accessible to Liberty State Park, the Statue of Liberty, & Circle Line cruises. By this summer it'll even have train access to the Meadowlands (race track with nearly daily events), Giants Stadium/Izod Center, & a brand new mall for the ladies that may come along.

Not to mention you can of course get to all those places & more by car.

No, its not like having it at MSG, or any of the big cities the FF typically goes to, but it'd be a very nice idea for a regional, and passable for a FF. And its a nicer rink (sightlines, concources, food choices) than most of them.

It'd be no worse, and in a lot of ways much better, than Buffalo (sorry). Perhaps on par with things like Detroit, Tampa, St Louis, Columbus (having never been to any of them, I can't individually judge).

It's a darn good idea, I'd just kind've doubt anyone would bother to put it together.

DeltaOne81

Josh '99
The arena itself is nice; as a place to potentially host a regional or a Frozen Four, there's far too little around for it to be an appealing destination.

Well, depends on what you mean, although I'll mostly disagree. There's a variety of things to do - people just don't know about them.

If you're talking about things to do within hours of a game, just a couple blocks from the arena is the Ironbound, a terrific dining destination. There's a variety of museums (NJ History Society, Newark Museum) & entertainment in Newark (NJPAC, Newark Symphony Hall, Bears & Eagles Stadium if baseball season has begun (possible for a FF) ).

If you're talking about after a game, its an easy PATH ride from Hoboken, the bar capital of NJ, or Jersey City, or Manhattan.

If you're talking about things to do on off-days, or well before games, its still an easy PATH ride from downtown or midtown Manhattan (which alone is endless possibilities), also accessible to Liberty State Park, the Statue of Liberty, & Circle Line cruises. By this summer it'll even have train access to the Meadowlands (race track with nearly daily events), Giants Stadium/Izod Center, & a brand new mall for the ladies that may come along.

Not to mention you can of course get to all those places & more by car.

No, its not like having it at MSG, or any of the big cities the FF typically goes to, but it'd be a very nice idea for a regional, and passable for a FF. And its a nicer rink (sightlines, concources, food choices) than most of them.

It'd be no worse, and in a lot of ways much better, than Buffalo (sorry). Perhaps on par with things like Detroit, Tampa, St Louis, Columbus (having never been to any of them, I can't individually judge).

It's a darn good idea, I'd just kind've doubt anyone would bother to put it together.

A regional wants to be in a strong college hockey area. I don't know who would front this idea? Maybe Princeton with all their fans? I don't know if you are going to get a lot of New England fans to drive to NJ to watch a game that their team is not in. Metro NY is not a strong college hockey area.

Jim Hyla

RichH

Josh '99
if RPI and Union were to somehow both make the tournament as co-hosts, would both then automatically get placed in Albany? Would they have to pre-designate one to get that benefit?

I'm pretty sure I've never seen any two eligible schools co-host a venue, and I'm willing to bet that the NCAA encourages this due to that quirk. This year's regional in Bridgeport is actually co-hosted by both Yale and Fairfield University. Fairfield doesn't even have a DIII program; their hockey team plays in the club-level division 3. It has been mentioned before in this thread, but when RPI co-hosts regionals, they do so with the league.

Frankly, this annual thread is moot because I'm confident that the Cornell Athletics department want nothing to do with any of the semantics (financial or organizational) that go with hosting a regional. Anywhere. And frankly, I don't think the current administration is even capable of it. Yeah, I went there.

Well, I'm not going to discuss what they are capable of doing other than to say they run operations much bigger than a regional...

Such as?

I'm not the only one who remembers the "running out of food and water" debacle at that one lacrosse regional, am I? And that was ON CAMPUS.

It'd be no worse, and in a lot of ways much better, than Buffalo (sorry).

Apology not accepted.

Jim Hyla
It will never happen, period.

It will probably never happen given current conditions. There are always "What if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly" hypotheticals that are fun to speculate about while we're waiting for Friday to arrive.

+ The NCAA changes the regional profile to include smaller venues
+ Binghamton builds a large venue
+ The Carrier Dome floods
+ Two words: Beebe Lake

Trotsky

Jim Hyla
It will never happen, period.

It will probably never happen given current conditions. There are always "What if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly" hypotheticals that are fun to speculate about while we're waiting for Friday to arrive.

+ The NCAA changes the regional profile to include smaller venues
+ Binghamton builds a large venue
+ The Carrier Dome floods
+ Two words: Beebe Lake

Yeah, right. I feel sad if these are your fun things.

RatushnyFan
It's a really nice arena. And they do a decent job of keeping it clean nearby. A little bit of a hassle to drive and park there (mostly after the game, trying to get out) even with the standard less than a full house of fans. The way they're playing the last couple of months people should get on board.

I've heard plenty of people complain about going to The Rock. The most imp[ortant thing though is no matter how well the devils play, almost no one in the Metro NYC area really cares about them. It's the least followed pro franchise in the NYC area.

To wit, only a handful of rabid devils fans would recognize Brodeur if he was walking down the street. And they rarely sell out for a game unless the Rangers are the opposition.

It's a lot stronger college hockey area than you think.

Local media coverage is poor of course but a lot of folks flock to area sports bars to catch their alma mater's games on the various Fox Sports stations.

I have no doubt that if MSG ever hosted the Frozen Four, it would sell out easily.

Rich S
I've heard plenty of people complain about going to The Rock. The most imp[ortant thing though is no matter how well the devils play, almost no one in the Metro NYC area really cares about them. It's the least followed pro franchise in the NYC area.

I'm not a Devils fan, but I've been to a few games at the Rock, and I enjoy it. Not a bad sight-line in the place, a good variety of interesting food, and always some entertaining, juvenile interplay between fans. I don't find it inconvenient to get there, either; I can understand why someone used to just getting off the subway and immediately being inside Madison Square Garden might find a few blocks' walk an indignity, but it's really not bad, and I hate the PATH.

Rich S
I have no doubt that if MSG ever hosted the Frozen Four, it would sell out easily.

What ever happened to the interest MSG expressed in hosting a Frozen Four back in 2003? No bid ever developed.
[www.uscho.com]

Beeeej
I can understand why someone used to just getting off the subway and immediately being inside Madison Square Garden might find a few blocks' walk an indignity, but it's really not bad, and I hate the PATH.

I was much more offended by whatever it cost to park in the garage a couple of blocks away for the Devils game, but for a tournament, I'd probably stay somewhere I could leave the car.

Rich S
I have no doubt that if MSG ever hosted the Frozen Four, it would sell out easily.

If the Frozen Four were held in a 20,000 seat arena in Boise it would probably sell out nowadays. The only way it wouldn't is if they held it in a 66,000-80,000 seat facility....

Regionals are a different story.

KeithK

Rich S
I have no doubt that if MSG ever hosted the Frozen Four, it would sell out easily.

If the Frozen Four were held in a 20,000 seat arena in Boise it would probably sell out nowadays. The only way it wouldn't is if they held it in a 66,000-80,000 seat facility....

Regionals are a different story.

If the NC$$ won't listen to a coach who has won a basketball national championship about how a NFL football stadium is not an appropriate venue for a final four, there is no chance that they will listen to any hockey people. Houston in 2013 anyone?

[www.washingtonpost.com]

[news.yahoo.com]

Rich S
I've heard plenty of people complain about going to The Rock. The most important thing though is no matter how well the devils play, almost no one in the Metro NYC area really cares about them. It's the least followed pro franchise in the NYC area.
To wit, only a handful of rabid devils fans would recognize Brodeur if he was walking down the street. And they rarely sell out for a game unless the Rangers are the opposition.

I've heard plenty of people complain about, well... everything.

Why the irrelevant, mean-spirited shots at the Devils that have nothing to do with the topic at hand?

By the way, not that we should let facts get in the way, but I count 8 sellouts this year in a quick perusal (3 vs. Rangers, 1 each Canadiens, Penguins, Sharks, Flyers, & Blackhawks)

DeltaOne81

Rich S
I've heard plenty of people complain about going to The Rock. The most important thing though is no matter how well the devils play, almost no one in the Metro NYC area really cares about them. It's the least followed pro franchise in the NYC area.
To wit, only a handful of rabid devils fans would recognize Brodeur if he was walking down the street. And they rarely sell out for a game unless the Rangers are the opposition.

I've heard plenty of people complain about, well... everything.

Why the irrelevant, mean-spirited shots at the Devils that have nothing to do with the topic at hand?

By the way, not that we should let facts get in the way, but I count 8 sellouts this year in a quick perusal (3 vs. Rangers, 1 each Canadiens, Penguins, Sharks, Flyers, & Blackhawks)

Easy... easy... I think RichS is a Devils guy. I didn't think he was digging on the team at all.

ugarte

DeltaOne81

Rich S
I've heard plenty of people complain about going to The Rock. The most important thing though is no matter how well the devils play, almost no one in the Metro NYC area really cares about them. It's the least followed pro franchise in the NYC area.
To wit, only a handful of rabid devils fans would recognize Brodeur if he was walking down the street. And they rarely sell out for a game unless the Rangers are the opposition.

I've heard plenty of people complain about, well... everything.

Why the irrelevant, mean-spirited shots at the Devils that have nothing to do with the topic at hand?

By the way, not that we should let facts get in the way, but I count 8 sellouts this year in a quick perusal (3 vs. Rangers, 1 each Canadiens, Penguins, Sharks, Flyers, & Blackhawks)

Easy... easy... I think RichS is a Devils guy. I didn't think he was digging on the team at all.

Nope. This time Rich and I are rooting for the same colors, the blue-shirts.
[elf.elynah.com]

Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

BCrespi
Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

Not if Yale's crummy showing in Albany is any indication. They barely sold out one section of the TUC.

Jeff Hopkins '82

BCrespi
Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

Not if Yale's crummy showing in Albany is any indication. They barely sold out one section of the TUC.

Don't you mean "one section of the Top 25 RPI"?

Beeeej

Jeff Hopkins '82

BCrespi
Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

Not if Yale's crummy showing in Albany is any indication. They barely sold out one section of the TUC.

Don't you mean "one section of the Top 25 RPI"?

Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that.

Jeff Hopkins '82

BCrespi
Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

Not if Yale's crummy showing in Albany is any indication. They barely sold out one section of the TUC.

Yeah, but as an "outsider" who happens to live there, I can tell you that Connecticutians are very into supporting the local teams. As long as they don't have to travel far. This is why UConn basketball teams play half their games in Hartford, and half in Storrs.

RichH

Jeff Hopkins '82

BCrespi
Wayne Dean, Associate AD of Yale being interviewed on the broadcast right now, mentioned that getting Yale a home game (he actually said, "a couple home games" WOOF!) made all the work of hosting the Bridgeport regional worth it. Certainly applicable to the discussions we were having on here. He was also very optimistic about selling out the rink.

Not if Yale's crummy showing in Albany is any indication. They barely sold out one section of the TUC.

Yeah, but as an "outsider" who happens to live there, I can tell you that Connecticutians are very into supporting the local basketball teams. As long as they don't have to travel far. This is why UConn basketball teams play half their games in Hartford, and half in Storrs.

FYP. That's why UConn plays all their home hockey games in a half-empty 2,000 seat dump.

That said, the regional has been promoted quite a bit around the state. It's a shame the games on friday are 3 and 6:30. That's a deal breaker for plenty of casual fans.

The regional will have Vermont and Yale and looks to have Denver and Miami. Vermont should travel well. The other three are sort of a mystery for who shows up at Harbor Yard. At least if you come from out west, it's easy to fly into NY.

I think we are going to end up in Minneapolis playing Northeastern in the first round. I haven't studied how the committee works that well though.

I like how both articles mention that students can get a set of tickets to all games for $20 instead of the $220 they paid last year for the same seats. Does that work the same for hockey? Or are they still charging everyone close to $200 for a set of tickets?