Yes, Dan -- you've summed up my points pretty well below.  I don't know why
the tournament is held in Florida, in truth. I would suspect that it might
have something to do with having a place where a bunch of kids -- many of
whom don't even get home for Christmas -- could get a few days "away" and be
in the sun during midwinter.  Shawn worked all those details out with the
Everblades ... I wasn't privy to the reasons why or how.
        The sponsorship of the Dexter Tournament was approaching $35,000
when it stopped.  It costs a lot of money to bring three teams in, put them
up, pay all their expenses, and sometimes offer a case guarantee.  In
addition, Harold generously gave, as the tournament "gift", no-upper-limit
gift certificates to Dexter Shoe to all the participating team members.
When he sold Dexter Shoe to Buffett, he wasn't in a position to sponsor it,
since he had no corporate entity.  That's when J C Penney took it over --
and the costs don't do anything but increase every year.  To find a sponsor
in the $35-50,000 range in this day and age is not easy.
Hope that helps ...
N


> Let me see, Nonni...your central point in this thread seems to be that
> Maine's "home" games should be played at Alfond on every occasion possible
> because:
>
> 1.  game atmosphere is the most intense at Alfond, thereby imparting extra
> advantage toward our players and winning results on the ice for each game
> 2.  travel to other venues is a significant burden on the total UMaine
> athletic budget and should be avoided
> 3.  fewer paying fans attend the games held away from the Alfond Arena
>
> Therefore, I ask again...why is it that Maine now plays in a holiday
> tournament in FLORIDA each year ?
>
> Maine for many years hosted a Dexter holiday tournament at the Alfond
Arena,
> Orono, Maine 04469...why did it stop ?