ECAC's moving to Atlantic City in 2011

[adamw]

Must admit, I'm pretty shocked looking at the mileage differences according to Google, NYC->Albany vs. NYC-AC ... in fact, it's pretty hard to believe.

Anecdotally speaking, I'm willing to guarantee the amount of time it takes to get to one vs. the other will be significantly different than the mileage would suggest.  And I'm taking into account the potential for traffic ... because, after all, try getting out of NYC going in EITHER direction. I'd say, it's much worse trying to head north via midtown or lower Manhattan than it would be heading down the Jersey shore in March. If you're in Lower Manhattan, you go through the tunnel, and once you're through, just shoot down the Parkway. It's a much tougher venture going North from there.

Furthermore, "New York City area" implies more than just Manhattan - it includes Jersey itself.

Not that this is a reason in and of itself to defend the move -- just addressing the part about mileage differences.

[billhoward]

[quote Robb][quote Kyle Rose]I feel like the shared ECAC experience will get lost in the bustle of Atlantic City.[/quote]Honest question (never having been to AC): how much "bustle" will there really be in March?[/quote]

You could get some glorious sunny days and maybe be in a T-shirt in the afternoon Saturday. I'm betting on cool, gray, windy, and light rain. A lot of the boardwalk doesn't come alive until May. So you're kind of stuck finding things to do indoors and that's not easy if the group isn't all over 21. Have you ever seen the New Jersey pine barrens? That would be your very last resort, just ahead of putting your head in a gas oven. No environmentalist ever chained himself to a scraggly pine tree in protest of logging.

But if you arrive just in time for Friday's game and sleep in Saturday morning, all you've really got to do is amuse yourself for about 5 hours Saturday afternoon.

[DeltaOne81]

Trust me, even if AC isn't as 'bustling' in March, you'll far prefer it to having to deal with Jersey shore/Parkway traffic in June/July/August.

It's an interesting experiment. I doubt that they'd still be there in 2014. But it'll be a fun experiment for 3 years.

[redice]

[quote DeltaOne81]
It's an interesting experiment. I doubt that they'd still be there in 2014. But it'll be a fun experiment for 3 years.[/quote]

Let's hope that's all it is (a 3 year experiment).

After that, we can look forward to the gamblers complaining when it gets moved to some other illogical place.... Something to look forward to!!!::rolleyes::

[billhoward]

We've done the Cape Cod trek over the Bourne Bridge and it's about as bad as taking the Garden State Parkway to the NJ Shore. Pretty close as to which state has worse drivers. No contest on ruder drivers. Only New Jersey has an Official State Gesture.

For me in NJ, it's 1:45 to Atlantic City vs. 2:30 to Albany. But much as this conveniences me, I'd rather the game be closer to the epicenter of Eastern hockey, which probably is Albany. Interesting exercise: What is the geographic epicenter, the student population weighted epicenter, the team winning percentage epicenter. Let's steal back some of those teraflops wasted predicting the weather.

The hub of eastern hockey not just ECACHL hockey really has to be Boston. As long as we're not in Boston Garden, we're the other show in the East. The other logical showcase place is Madison Square Garden but it has all those stupid college basketball games in March.

[billhoward]

[quote Trotsky][quote judy][quote jtwcornell91][quote judy]If the requirements are casino and far away from the schools, can we go to Las Vegas instead of AC?[/quote]

Lots of European cities have casinos...[/quote]

...like Monaco? I've never been to Monaco![/quote]

That would expand the dating pool.

My only experience in AC was singing at the Bicentennial, 35 years ago (shiver).  It was a hole.  But then again Vegas was a hole 20 years ago and now it's great.

I suppose we can chant "we're all in New Jersey."[/quote]

[thread drift] Oh, gawd, the Bicentennial. A curse for cub reporters who spent a year covering dopey local stories whenever a town painted its hydrants red-white-blue or renamed Maple Lane to Bicentennial Way. I fear that we'll live enough to see the Semiquincentennial (or Bicenquinquagenary) which doesn't roll off the tongue. I have a favorite Beetle Bailey cartoon from the 1976 era where, in Campy Swampy, circus animals escape, MPs chase a robber, other bizarre things happen, and General Halftrack walks by and mutters, "Must have something to do with the Bicentennial."

As for gambling sites, let's hope Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun doesn't plan a rink.

[KeithK]

[quote billhoward]I fear that we'll live enough to see the Semiquincentennial (or Bicenquinquagenary) which doesn't roll off the tongue.[/quote]
I'm sure as hell shooting to be around for the Tricentennial.

[Josh '99]

[quote adamw]Furthermore, "New York City area" implies more than just Manhattan - it includes Jersey itself.[/quote]Granted, but by the same logic, it also includes Westchester and Rockland Counties, which are closer to Albany, just as it includes NNJ, which is closer to AC.

[Josh '99]

[quote Robb][quote Kyle Rose]I feel like the shared ECAC experience will get lost in the bustle of Atlantic City.[/quote]Honest question (never having been to AC): how much "bustle" will there really be in March?[/quote]There will be bustle.  Gambling is not weather-dependent.

[Josh '99]

[quote jaybert][quote 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.[/quote]

They have the train which is "direct" to Atlantic City (actually goes through Philly I think, but you dont need to switch to NJ Transit like you had to in the past) which is how I will get there![/quote]And Amtrak goes direct from NYC to Albany.  I still think it's basically a wash in the travel-from-NYC department.  

(But yes, that's probably how I will get there too.)

[billhoward]

[quote KeithK][quote billhoward]I fear that we'll live enough to see the Semiquincentennial (or Bicenquinquagenary) which doesn't roll off the tongue.[/quote]
I'm sure as hell shooting to be around for the Tricentennial.[/quote]
But I've seen hockey and lax championships. Not just championship games. Hopefully you've got enough years left.

Scary to realize that for someone in school now, thinking back to the lax and hockey titles era of 1967-77, that it's as ancient as it was for people at Cornell in the Dryden-Rimmer-French years to hear about the Fifth Down game played on the eve of World War II. As it was for the Fifth Down fans to think back to those unbeaten teams pre-World War I. We may be slowly curing the black-white-yellow and male-female divides, but it's so damn hard to look at some geezer on the field at halftime celebrating a 50 year old accomplishment, and see him as once young, too ... or yourself as that old someday.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote billhoward]But much as this conveniences me, I'd rather the game be closer to the epicenter of Eastern hockey, which probably is Albany. Interesting exercise: What is the geographic epicenter, the student population weighted epicenter, the team winning percentage epicenter.[/quote]Well, the center is certainly not AC. A quick google map measure gives the average school to Albany distance as 137 mi., while the AC distance is 300 mi. Talk about lack of students at the games.

The hub of eastern hockey not just ECACHL hockey really has to be Boston. As long as we're not in Boston Garden, we're the other show in the East.

Way back when I was a student it was 350 mi. for the trip to Boston. Aside from the NC schools, that may have been the longest trip back then, but damn we were going to Boston, not AC. The trip was "long" but exciting. We were going to a place where hockey mattered, AC ugh.::thud::


I'd rather go back to trying to share Boston, even if it meant we played semis on Thursday and finals Sat afternoon. I know that would be bad for students, but it would make a hell of a weekend.

[RichH]

[quote billhoward][quote KeithK][quote billhoward]I fear that we'll live enough to see the Semiquincentennial (or Bicenquinquagenary) which doesn't roll off the tongue.[/quote]
I'm sure as hell shooting to be around for the Tricentennial.[/quote]
But I've seen hockey and lax championships. Not just championship games. Hopefully you've got enough years left.

Scary to realize that for someone in school now, thinking back to the lax and hockey titles era of 1967-77, that it's as ancient as it was for people at Cornell in the Dryden-Rimmer-French years to hear about the Fifth Down game played on the eve of World War II. As it was for the Fifth Down fans to think back to those unbeaten teams pre-World War I. We may be slowly curing the black-white-yellow and male-female divides, but it's so damn hard to look at some geezer on the field at halftime celebrating a 50 year old accomplishment, and see him as once young, too ... or yourself as that old someday.[/quote]

OK.  Good to see billhoward is in mid-season ruminating form already...

[CowbellGuy]

[quote Kyle Rose]What was all that wrong with Albany that motivated the move?[/quote]
8000 people last year seems like pretty good motivation. For that matter, what was wrong with Placid that motivated that move? Dollars and cents (probably more cents than dollars) motivated those moves and the same is true here.

[Josh '99]

[quote Jim Hyla]I'd rather go back to trying to share Boston, even if it meant we played semis on Thursday and finals Sat afternoon. I know that would be bad for students, but it would make a hell of a weekend.[/quote]It'd be worse for people with jobs too.