[log in to unmask] wrote:
 
> << Why is a four team
> tournament to
> choose one entrance to the Final Four going to attract any more venue
> interest
> than four teams deciding two spaces? >>
>
> Well...for one thing there would be one extra game. That's 50% more
potential
> revenue, with each team's fans potentially being able to see there
team twice.
> I would double or triple the distance I would drive or fly to see
that.
 
Actually, there wouldn't be an extra game.  I misspoke: the current
format has six
teams playing for two spaces.
 
> I find the fact that you would even read Kravitz...a third rate
columnist for
> a 4th rate paper...at all. The RMN is no better than the Pueblo
Chieftan or
> the Durango Herald. Put that crap down and pick up The Denver
Post...college
> hockey news every day featuring weekly stories, standing and stats
from all
> over the nation as well as current up to date news every day on both
CC and DU
> as well as anything that might be going on at AFA. Periodic full page
feature
> articles like the one recently about CC's Morrison and Nelson, African
 
> Americans from LA making it in big time NCAA hockey.
Prospect/recruiting
> updates, commentary and opinion all the time.
 
Then they do a fine job of hiding these articles.  I checked out the
Post's
website, and they had nine for January.
 
> In addition to that on weekends when there are 6 home games in
Colorado you
> can expect 14,000-16,000 fans watching on each night. This is while DU
season
> ticket holders have to deal with the screwed up seating arrangements
of the
> lily pad arenas they have to hop to and from while the Magness Center
(8K
> seats) is being finished. After that expect almost 20,000 college
hockey fans
> a night. The championship game of the DU cup (a regular season game) a
few
> years ago drew a sellout of 16,000 easy.
 
All for games where the home team is playing.
 
> How do arenas sign? Do they have fingers? I would expect an actual
attendance
> in very similar #'s to anywhere else that you don't know who the teams
will be
> a week ahead of time.
>
> Let's dig up some #'s...what do regionals in other areas of the
country
> usually draw? I'm sure they rarely draw near 15K let 18K alone unless
a couple
> of teams within 200 miles of the site miracously make it there, or the
team
> with a huge campus is from that hometown like Michigan State has had a
couple
> times I think. Then all we will hear is the home-ice advantage whiners
out in
> force...give me a break.
 
But that's exactly my point.  I don't think attendance would be any
worse in
Denver than it was in Detroit a few years back.  I also don'tthink it's
going to
be a whole lot better.  Ergo, no 18,000 seat arena is going to be lining
up to
host one of the proposed sub-regionals, including the Pepsi Center.
West
Regionals are going to have to continue to be at campus arenas.  The
alternative
is renting some ice time at the local municipal rink.
 
J. Michael Neal
 
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