The race for hosting the 2007 and 2008 Frozen Fours is under way, with a conference call scheduled for Thursday to narrow down the list.
USCHO.com has learned that the following cities have applied to host the 2007 and 2008 Frozen Fours:
- Albany, N.Y. (Pepsi Arena)
- Auburn Hills, Mich. (The Palace at Auburn Hills)
- Boston (FleetCenter)
- Buffalo, N.Y. (HSBC Arena)
- Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
- [nl]Denver (Pepsi Center)
- Detroit (Joe Louis Arena)
- Omaha, Neb. (Omaha Arena)
- Philadelphia (First Union Center)
- San Antonio (Alamodome)
- St. Louis (Savvis Center)
- St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
The deadline for submitting a proposal to host the Frozen Four was last Friday, May 2, 2003. The finalists, selected during the conference call, will be asked to provide an in-person presentation to the Committee on June 4 in Indianapolis at the annual Ice Hockey Committee meeting.
Boston will host the 2004 Frozen Four, while Albany hosted in 2001, St. Paul in 2002 event and Buffalo this past season. [nl]Denver will try to obtain it’s first Frozen Four since 1976. Detroit will hope to get the Frozen Four for the first time since 1990, when Wisconsin defeated Colgate for the title.
“If the biggest party in the world, the Super Bowl, is going to Detroit, then our event certainly would be welcomed,” said Tom Anastos, Commissioner of the CCHA, which is backing the Detroit bid.
Philadelphia submitted a bid for the first time, backed by the MAAC and Rider University, located in nearby Ewing, N.J. Rider does not play varsity ice hockey, though does have a club team. Philadelphia’s interest began when the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J. hosted the MAAC men’s basketball tournament last March. The Sovereign Bank Arena and Philadelphia’s First Union Center are both operated by Global Spectrum, the arena management arm of Comcast, which owns a large chunk of the Philadelphia sports scene.
“They were very interested in top-level NCAA championships,” said MAAC Director of Championships Ken Taylor. “They have a pretty good infrastructure in place. They have their act together.”
Auburn Hills, San Antonio, and Omaha are also in the mix for the first time. St. Louis was one of seven finalists for the last round of selections, but didn’t make the final cut.
St. Louis’ second go-around is bolstered by its status as a finalist the last time around. St. Louis will be hosting the 2004 and 2005 Division I Wrestling Championships, the 2004 Division I Men’s Basketball Midwest Regionals and the 2005 Men’s Basketball Final Four.
“St. Louis is a hockey town and a college town,” said St. Louis Sports Commission Director of Marketing and Communications Marc Schrieber. “We have a wonderful fan base and a town that loves it’s sports.”
San Antonio, with the University of Texas-San Antonio as the host, will have the 2004 Men’s Basketball Final Four.
Madison Square Garden in New York had strongly considered putting in a bid, but ultimately, decided to sit out this round.
The Frozen Four sites will be selected with the following criteria:
- Facility Requirements and Needs (Preference will be given to facilities of at least 15,000 seating capacity)
- Locker Room Space
- Media Facilities
- Hotel Facilities
- Headquarters Hotel
- Media Hotel
- Officials Accommodations
- Team Accommodations
- Fan Accommodations
- Financial Projections
- Ticket Prices
- Projected Ticket Sales
Also due last Friday were bids to host the Regionals through the year 2008. The Regionals open for bidding are:
2005 Northeast and Midwest
2006 Northeast and Midwest
2007 All Regionals
2008 All Regionals
The two chosen sites will be announced on June 27 after the Championships Cabinet meets.
The sites chosen will round out all sites for the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament until the year 2008. The following sites have already been chosen:
2004
East Regional — Pepsi Arena (Albany, N.Y, Mar. 27-28)
Northeast Regional — Verizon Wireless Arena (Manchester, N.H., Mar. 26-27)
Midwest Regional — Van Andel Arena (Grand Rapids, Mich., Mar. 27-28)
West Regional — Colorado Springs World Arena (Colorado Springs, Colo., Mar. 26-27)
Frozen Four — FleetCenter (Boston, April 8 and 10)
2005
East Regional — Centrum Centre (Worcester, Mass., Mar. 25-26)
Northeast — TBA (Mar. 26-27)
Midwest Regional — TBA (Mar. 25-26)
West Regional — Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, Minn., Mar. 26-27)
Frozen Four — Value City Arena (Columbus, Ohio, April 7 and 9)
2006
East Regional — Pepsi Arena (Albany, N.Y., Mar. 25-26)
Northeast Regional — TBA (Mar. 24-25)
Midwest Regional — TBA (Mar. 25-26)
West Regional — Englestad Arena (Grand Forks, N.D., Mar. 24-25)
Frozen Four — Bradley Center (Milwaukee, Wisc., April 6 and 8)
2007
East Regional — TBA (Mar. 23-25)
Northeast Regional — TBA (Mar. 23-25)
Midwest Regional — TBA (Mar. 23-25)
West Regional — TBA (Mar. 23-25)
Frozen Four — TBA (April 5 and 7)
2008
East Regional — TBA (Mar. 28-30)
Northeast Regional — TBA (Mar. 28-30)
Midwest Regoinal — TBA (Mar. 28-30)
West Regional — TBA (Mar. 28-30)
Frozen Four — TBA (April 10 and 12)
