Frozen Four at Ford Field?

[judy]

And I forgot to mention that there are two Wegman's in northern VA :-D

[dss28]

[Q]Will Wrote:

 [Q2]dss28 Wrote:

 I wanna see it come to Hartford... [/Q]
Okay, but if that happens, you're going to have to let 50 of us stay at your house.[/q]

 ::laugh::   I'm sure we can work something out.

[ninian '72]

[Q]judy Wrote:

 Ya know, when thinking in terms of DC and the Frozen Four, I'd second Greg's opinion that it'd be awesome due to the fact that I live here and I've got a couple of NHL fan friends I'm trying to convert over to the college game...but I can't imagine coming in from out of town and the amount of money you'd have to shell out to stay in the city for that many days and feed yourself.
I'm often times envious of those in NYC or even Philly because it is possible to find good food for cheap there. Maybe I'm just wandering in the wrong neighborhoods here but I can't really even find food (good or bad) for cheap here. And I'm not wandering into those bad neighborhoods on my own.

I will however say that there's a nice little tapas restaurant within a couple of blocks of the MCI Center that serves awesome food and great sangria! and the MCI Center sits on top of Chinatown (as dinky as it is)[/q]

Don't forget the two neighborhood brewpubs and the Irish pub virtually across the street from MCI.  There are some cheaper places in Chinatown and a variety of other inexpensive places nearby.  The Federal workers have to eat someplace!

[dss28]

[Q]judy Wrote:
 I can't really even find food (good or bad) for cheap here. [/q]

Check out The Bottom Line on Eye Street in Federal Triangle (Farragut West stop on the blue line, if I recall correctly), across the street from NCB.  Good, STRONG, cheap drinks, and the food was pretty good too.

[Trotsky]

[Q]judy Wrote:
I will however say that there's a nice little tapas restaurant within a couple of blocks of the MCI Center that serves awesome food and great sangria! and the MCI Center sits on top of Chinatown (as dinky as it is)[/q]

I think I know that place.

Chinatown is hit or miss.  There is (was, one year ago, things change) a fantastic thai place less than a block from the MCI on a second floor walkup (it looked more like an illegal alien holding pen than a restaurant -- it probably was both), and then there are places you're more likely to contract cholera than get a good meal at any price.  It is what is referred to tactfully as a Transitional Neighborhood, and untactfully as a place in which whites are driving non-white owners out as fast as possible under the ever-popular guise of "civic improvement."  Ahem.   By 2009, it will look like Burbank.

[jtwcornell91]

[Q]KeithK Wrote:

 [Q2]Ultimately, who the hell cares if anyone else notices the tourney? It's there for us. [/Q]
My feeling too.  If too many people notice then we won't be able to get tickets.[/q]

If too few people notice then we  won't be able to get rid of tickets in case we didn't psychically know exactly how many would be in our party a year ahead of time. :-(

[gobigred24]

In Philly, there isn't a whole lot to do around the stadiums, but its a quick subway ride to Center City.  Philly is also a pretty good hockey town- the Flyers have always been popular, and the Phantoms set all sorts of AHL attendence records a few years ago.  Does anyone know when the NCAA will announce its decision?  Because the Lax final four is in Philly this year, and i think it would be interesting to see how that goes- how many locals it attracts, etc.  

Of course, I probably won't even be in Philly anymore by the time this would happen, but it would still be cool

[David Harding]

[Q]gobigred24 Wrote:
... Does anyone know when the NCAA will announce its decision?  ...[/q]
The USCHO article http://www.uscho.com/news/2005/04/14_010593.php linked in the earlier post http://elf.elynah.com/read.php?1,52180,65427#msg-65427 says: [q]Dean and a member of the NCAA staff will take site visits to all six locations prior to all cities doing formal presentations to the entire Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, June 7-10, in Indianapolis. The committee will then forward its recommendations for 2009, 2010 and 2011 to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet to approve during its September 20-22, meeting in Indianapolis.[/q]

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

The other difference about the lax final four is goegraphy.  Philly is the perfect location between the southern schools and the northern schools.  And a lot more balanced than having it in College Park every year.

But I'd love to see the FF in Philly.

[Scersk '97]

[Q]Jeff Hopkins '82 Wrote:
Philly is the perfect location between the southern schools and the northern schools.[/q]

Anyone know why they decided to hold it at the pro stadium rather than Franklin Field?  Is FF really that decrepit?  Seems like it could more reasonably handle a lacrosse crowd.  I always enjoyed our trips there.

The Eagles's football stadium just looks like its plopped down in parking lot land.  At least its easier to get to than, say, the Meadowlands.

[Al DeFlorio]

[Q]Scersk '97 Wrote:

Anyone know why they decided to hold it at the pro stadium rather than Franklin Field?  Is FF really that decrepit?  Seems like it could more reasonably handle a lacrosse crowd.
[/q]
44,000 watched last year's championship game in Bawlmer.  I suspect there may have been more at the semis.

[gobigred24]

Franklin isn't that bad, but its no Linc.  I am sure they can charge a lot more for tickets there, there is a lot more set-up in terms of concessions, and there is not a lot of parking around Penn's Campus.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Franklin Field could hold the crowd.  It's not that.  

The stadia in Philly have been in that general area for at least 40 years and before that if you include JFK Stadium primarily because of access.   They tried putting the new baseball stadium closer to downtown, but they realized they have to blow up something like 10 blocks of near-downtown AND build a whole new freeway to get people to it.  Hard to justify that when you're already using tax dollars for the stadium.

Probable reasons for the Linc over Franklin Field:  1) the Linc is a newer, fancier, more fan-friendly venue  2) The city of Philadelphia is touting it for major sporting events, like international soccer friendlies, not just NCAA ones.  3) There is definitely no parking at Penn except for that one garage on Spruce St.  Read: yet another revenue stream.  4) Grass at the Linc versus turf at FF.  5) Plenty of room for a "Fan Zone" right there - no room at FF.

That and Franklin Field really IS a dump.  :-P

[billhoward]

[Q]Jeff Hopkins '82 Wrote: The other difference about the lax final four is goegraphy.  Philly is the perfect location between the southern schools and the northern schools.  And a lot more balanced than having it in College Park every year. ... But I'd love to see the FF in Philly.[/q]Baltimore for lacrosse' final four has some disadvantages to fans of lacrosse in New York, New Jersey, and the Northeast. When it's held down there you hear all this nonsense about how the South Is Lacrosse, forgetting which part of the country won the majority of the titles 1990 onward. Maybe some of the naysayers consider Princeton to be almost part of the Confederacy and thus victories for the Near South. Philadephia can be a day trip for Maryland, Hopkins, or Virginia fans.

[billhoward]

[Q]RichH Wrote:  Well, it's that much closer to reality, now that the NCAA has announced six finalists to host the Frozen Fours from 2009-2011:

Boston - TD Bank North Garden (host: Hockey East/Boston University)
Detroit - Ford Field (CCHA) (2010-2011 only)
Philadelphia, Pa. - Wachovia Center (MAAC/Canisius/Niagara)
St. Paul, Minn. - Xcel Energy Center (University of Minnesota)
Tampa, Fla. - St. Pete Times Forum (Alabama-Huntsville)
Washington, D.C. - MCI Center (Atlantic Hockey/Naval Academy)

I'd vote for D.C., Philly, and St. Paul.  Also note the bids turned down:
[Q2]Among those ruled out: Sunrise, Fla.; San Antonio; Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Auburn Hills, Mich.; and Buffalo, N.Y.[/Q]
[/q]
The NCAA should be building on all the good publicity hockey has gotten this past year (look at the coverage in Sports Illustrated) and site a future event in the media capital. You get more national coverage doing it in NYC. There's stuff to do New York for the fans. Hotels aren't cheap but fans have friends or friends' parents they can stay with (free laundry, too). Problem is whether any team cares enough to sponsor it in New York City. Maybe Cornell/Colgate could jointly sponsor ... or the ECAC itself knowing it can't too-seriously propose Albany. (If Canisius thinks it's close enough to be host for a Philadelphia venue, then Cornell can be host of a NYC venue.) For the fans' sake, it needs to be in Madison Square Garden. Meadowlands (Continental) Arena has lots of parking but you can't exactly have a nice dinner and then stroll to the subway and then the arena.

Otherwise, I agree an urban-location rink in a big city is better for fans: More to do, more choices on airlines getting you in there. Boston is great, Philadelphia is fine, Washington would be good (and warm, or at least not bitter cold).