ECAC's moving to Atlantic City in 2011

[Jordan 04]

3-year agreement

http://www.ecachockey.com/men/2009-10/news/20092909_AC_Announcement

[ben03]

booo

[jaybert]

awesome!  combines 2 of my loves....hockey + gambling, not necessarily in that order

[Scersk '97]

Boardwalk Hall looks beautiful.  Just over 10,000 for hockey seems about right.

I call Section 203.

[redice]

Shit!!!!

[imafrshmn]

Uugh.  Lame venue in an inconvenient city.  It looks like a better home for obscure trade shows than hockey games, like the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

[RichH]

[quote Jordan 04]3-year agreement

http://www.ecachockey.com/men/2009-10/news/20092909_AC_Announcement[/quote]

Wow.  That's a shocker.  

In lieu of an immediate rant, I'll post the following data, based on Google Maps driving times:

Princeton:    1:45
New Haven:    3:46*
Hamden:       3:49*
Schenectady:  4:39*
Troy:         4:40*
Ithaca:       5:09
Providence:   5:22*
Hamilton:     5:42
Allston:      5:53*
Hanover:      6:45*
Canton:       7:32
Potsdam:      7:46

(* Note: 7 of the 12 have to route through NYC traffic)

PHL Airport:  1:10
AC Airport: AirTran, Spirit, WestJet only
NJ Transit from Philly: ~95 minutes

Generally I was neutral in the Boston/LP/Albany debate.  All had their positives and negatives, but they were at least in proximity to the league geography.

This...I don't know WTF they're thinking. (oh, I know it was $$$)  Way to look out for the common fan, league office.

I'll start making my sign based on the largest lettering on the AC airport's website:  "ACWhy?"

[judy]

[quote jaybert]awesome!  combines 2 of my loves....hockey + gambling, not necessarily in that order[/quote]

I'll agree there for the most part. This could be dangerous for me.

[scoop85]

A longer drive for us, but it's got to be a better venue; the TUC was like a mausoleum last year, and there's no energy in the area surrounding the arena.  All-in-all, worth a try.

[Scersk '97]

[quote imafrshmn]Uugh.  Lame venue in an inconvenient city.[/quote]

It's a matter of perspective.  Atlantic City is an hour and a half by train from 30th Street in Philly.  There are non-stop flights from Boston (Spirit), Toronto (Westjet), and Atlanta (AirTran).

So for those of us who live a bit further to the south (or will be living a bit further to the south), Atlantic City seems pretty convenient.  I would think that the many Canadian parents of ECAC hockey players will find it much easier to attend.   (From NYC, it's pretty much a wash with Albany by train or car.)  But, yeah, for the Boston, Ithaca, or North Country crowds, it's less convenient.

Albany, while potentially charming(?) if you look (hard), is kind of a dump.  And the Times-Union Center is definitely a dump.  Having never been to Atlantic City, I can't say it will be much better.  With the ding-ding-dings, at least there will be something else to do when not watching hockey.  I would also think that the hotel (ding-ding-ding) choices will be better.

Here's hoping.

[KeithK]

On the positive side ::nut::, we probably don't have to worry about any opposing fans showing up at the arena. ::bang::

[jaybert]

[quote judy][quote jaybert]awesome!  combines 2 of my loves....hockey + gambling, not necessarily in that order[/quote]

I'll agree there for the most part. This could be dangerous for me.[/quote]

on a negative note, hotels are very expensive in the immediate area (boardwalk/etc)...probably $200-300/night for the weekends, maybe more.

[bigredtrumpet]

[quote RichH]
(* Note: 7 of the 12 have to route through NYC traffic)
[/quote]

Not necessarily - outside of the already mentioned train travel, you can avoid NYC by taking the Tappan Zee bridge to the Garden State Parkway and ride that all the way to Atlantic City...

Also there are relatively cheaper hotels furthur away from town.

Yay Jersey.

[oceanst41]

Interesting move to say the least. ::wtf::

I'm very curious to see how this all plays out. Albany was struggling to draw even as a centralized location relative to the league. Was this due to Albany itself, the rink, etc? Now they have made a move to a city with more to offer outside of the games, but what does the added inconvenience of travel time (driving) for most fans do the crowds? Does Harvard's fan even make the drive if they get to the semis? ;-)

[RichH]

[quote bigredtrumpet][quote RichH]
(* Note: 7 of the 12 have to route through NYC traffic)
[/quote]

Not necessarily - outside of the already mentioned train travel, you can avoid NYC by taking the Tappan Zee bridge to the Garden State Parkway and ride that all the way to Atlantic City...[/quote]

My point was that all the driving times I listed are "best cases" because it doesn't take into account the slowing effect of the Metro NY traffic.  Taking a longer route to a bridge that also is often bogged down with traffic doesn't change that.

Look, as hockey crazed alumni, many of us would find a way to go to Phoenix (and bitch about it) if the league moved them there.  Personally, I think I'm looking forward to spending a weekend with gambling and drinking opportunities.  

My main reason for disliking this is that it screws undergrads from around the league, and that's a shame.  Consider the borderline hockey fan who may be on the fence about going to the tournament weekend.   Now you're basically doubling the travel time for just about every student (Princeton has never had an undergrad fanbase).  This location will be a detriment to attendance of all member institutions.  Locals still won't care.  The local media is smaller and less relevant.

And let's face it.  Your 3 biggest draws in terms of fanbases are Cornell, Clarkson, and St. Lawrence.  Those 3 showed up in force at both Lake Placid and Albany when their teams were in it.  With this, you can pretty much kiss the North Country townies goodbye.