ECAC's moving to Atlantic City in 2011

[RichH]

[quote Al DeFlorio]Providence would have been a better choice.  Nice city, attractive arena, wide choice of places to stay, varied--and many very good--dining options, reasonable travel for Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, (all in this year's preseason top five), QU, RPI, Union and, not that it matters, Brown, and in an area where college (as well as prep) hockey has a real following.[/quote]

Agreed, and I hereby change my support from Bridgeport to Providence, which did as many things right in their urban-renewal efforts that Hartford has done wrong.  There are now reasons to draw people INTO the city center rather than AWAY from it.  It also has transportation advantages, being on Amtrak's NE Corridor, as well as hooking into Boston's commuter rail.  It's also a familiar trip for everyone in the league.  Gets us off the hill that Brown sits on and into a different part of the city.

The arena is smaller, a single deck, is close to many restaurant and drinking establishments, and there are quality hotels located nearby as well.  As for the media, the ProJo has awareness of collegiate events, and may also attract the attention of the Boston media.  You also have a reasonable population size who would be interested in D-1 college hockey so you could draw unaffiliated lookie-loos from the RI & Boston areas to bump up the attendance.

Good call, Al.

In AC, they'll be lucky to have attendance break 3500.  And that's WITH our best drawing teams (Cornell, Clarkson, SLU, and RPI say) in the thing.  I really doubt there will be a webcast option as well.

This is the Northern version of the Everblades.

[adamw]

A couple of us long-time ECAC scribe types check in, with mixed reviews.

http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/schott/2009/sep/29/ecac-hockeys-big-gamble/

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2009/09/29_ecacgambles.php

[Killer]

I think Harvard's behind this.  They can't draw a crowd anywhere, so why not put the tournamant in a place where no one is likely to draw a crowd, thereby leveling the playing field?

They may have a nice facility there, but is there anyone who thinks of AC when they think of college hockey?

[Trotsky]

Bizarre.  Very convenient for me, but... bizarre.

I wonder if this indicates a willigness/long term plan for the ECAC to add southern schools (e.g., Navy).

[dbilmes]

The only good news about this is that it's less likely to snow that weekend in Atlantic City than in Albany.

[cth95]

That absolutely sucks.  I admit that I am biased to more northern venues since I live near Burlington, VT, but I still think that it makes no sense to host the tournament further south than pretty much every school.  I agree with those who would like to return to Lake Placid or maybe move to Providence.  Lake Placid has the charm, character, and history to bring fans and Providence has done a great job at revitalizing the city.  Providence is a legitimate hockey hot-bed which would probably bring local fans interested in seeing some good games.

I have gone to every ECAC championship involving Cornell for the last decade.  Call me a whimp, but the chances of me going all the way to AC (and having to do the horrible drive around NYC and through NJ) are pretty slim. That also sucks because I am going to be pissed when we are playing and I am not there.

[redice]

[quote cth95]I have gone to every ECAC championship involving Cornell for the last decade.  Call me a whimp, but the chances of me going all the way to AC (and having to do the horrible drive around NYC and through NJ) are pretty slim. That also sucks because I am going to be pissed when we are playing and I am not there.[/quote]

This mirrors my opinion of the change from Boston to LP.   I missed only one ECAC tourney in Boston involving CU.   That would be 1980 (UGH!!).   They moved it to LP and I can say that I never went to one there.   IMO, it was a really bad idea & I chose not to participate.   Of course, I ended up missing the 1995 & 1996 championship years in LP.  So, I can relate to your feelings.

I think AC, like LP, is a really bad idea.   But, with all of the attractions, we'll go to AC anyway.   LP offered nothing of interest to me.

[ugarte]

Providence is a good call. Maybe in four years the ECAC should contact the Dunk.

[Trotsky]

At least it's an insanely gorgeous venue. IINM, it's where my Dad used to watch Atantic City play in the 30's.

[Josh '99]

[quote redice][quote RichH]
Look, as hockey crazed alumni, many of us would find a way to go to Phoenix [/quote]

Be careful what you say Rich.....   They'll read this and immediately begin considering Phoenix.   After all, what could be better than the sunshiny southwest in March?  Not for me, of course.[/quote]Let's do it.  I'm in.

[Josh '99]

I'm a little confused - do people think AC is easier to get to from NYC than Albany?  For example, from Adam's article (not singling you out, but I happen to have the window open so it's easiest):

And for every local or student that was going, there will -- theoretically -- be alumni of all ECAC schools in the New York City area who now have it much easier to attend.

How is that the case?  The drive is almost the same - 130 miles to AC, 150 miles to Albany, so it's a little bit closer, but there's also some stupid traffic on the local roads that take you into AC from the Parkway that mitigate that difference.  Both are accessible by train or bus.  As far as travel, it's basically a wash.

[Rita]

[quote Trotsky]At least it's an insanely gorgeous venue. IINM, it's where my Dad used to watch Atantic City play in the 30's.[/quote]


It maybe be gorgeous, but I'm afraid that it could be the sight of a pool party due to bad ice ala the Frozen Four in Cincinnati years back. I hate the idea of playing important games (i.e. a NC$$ bid at stake) in a venue not set up for ice hockey. I doubt the agreement between the ECAC and AC includes the loan of the NHL ice set-up and maintenance people.

[Robb]

[quote Rita]It maybe be gorgeous, but I'm afraid that it could be the sight of a pool party due to bad ice ala the Frozen Four in Cincinnati years back. I hate the idea of playing important games (i.e. a NC$$ bid at stake) in a venue not set up for ice hockey. I doubt the agreement between the ECAC and AC includes the loan of the NHL ice set-up and maintenance people.[/quote]
What do you mean by "not set up for ice hockey"?  This was the home of the ECHL Boardwalk Bullies through 2005, so they clearly must have their own permanently installed icemaking equipment.  

Per the history section of the official site:
 
"The new NHL regulation-sized ice rink, which consists of 400 cubic yards of concrete, measures 200 feet by 85 feet. Glycol, a refrigerant used for cooling the floor, runs through 51,200 feet of piping within the arena floor. The addition of a new refrigeration plant allows the entire ice surface for hockey, including the painting of lines and logos, to be completed in 24 hours. A rapid de-bonding system has been installed to facilitate quick ice removal within eight hours, enabling a faster conversion from event to event."

[Rita]

[quote Robb][quote Rita]It maybe be gorgeous, but I'm afraid that it could be the sight of a pool party due to bad ice ala the Frozen Four in Cincinnati years back. I hate the idea of playing important games (i.e. a NC$$ bid at stake) in a venue not set up for ice hockey. I doubt the agreement between the ECAC and AC includes the loan of the NHL ice set-up and maintenance people.[/quote]
What do you mean by "not set up for ice hockey"?  This was the home of the ECHL Boardwalk Bullies through 2005, so they clearly must have their own permanently installed icemaking equipment.  

Per the history section of the official site:
 
"The new NHL regulation-sized ice rink, which consists of 400 cubic yards of concrete, measures 200 feet by 85 feet. Glycol, a refrigerant used for cooling the floor, runs through 51,200 feet of piping within the arena floor. The addition of a new refrigeration plant allows the entire ice surface for hockey, including the painting of lines and logos, to be completed in 24 hours. A rapid de-bonding system has been installed to facilitate quick ice removal within eight hours, enabling a faster conversion from event to event."[/quote]

Before posting last night I did a quick check of ECHL teams and didn't see AC listed. So even though they had a team back in 2005, they are apparently now defunct. At least with TU in Albany and LP, the venues were regularly being used for ice hockey. With the venue in AC, it seems that hockey is not going to be the main use of the building (see here for their sporting events), thus the potential for bad ice and other problems are greater.

After seeing the listing of events, I hope that next year the ECAC hockey tourney will also follow A-10 Basketball and not an indoor auto racing event!

[Dpperk29]

I don't like it.

I'll still go if tech makes it (granted, I'll have graduated by then and might be living/working someplace that makes it impossible).

But this makes last second decisions like my trek to albany for the championship game impossible, regardless of my start point (Dryden or Potsdam).