>  If the point was to get a more central location, the Knick
should have been the only venue considered.
 
The only way this unfortunate turn of events makes any sense to me is
if:
 
1) The ECAC wanted ultimately to move to the Knick, and
2) The Knick wasn't interested unless the ECAC could demonstrate that
their tournament would draw in NY.
 
Of course, if the 93 tourny doesn't draw flies, nothing will have
been proven, since LP is relatively difficult to get to, and does not
have the large local population of an Albany or Boston to draw
interest from.
 
Dumb choice.
 
*** Modest Proposal ***
 
I propose that the ECAC throw out the Championship Tournament and
play single game semis and a final on successive weekends at the
better seed's building. This would:
 
1) Make the regular season meetings between strong teams that much
more important, since they would go a ways towards determining the
venues of the playoff games. (Finishing first would actually matter;
finishing second rather than third would matter greatly...)
 
2) Guarantee sell-outs and tremendous local interest in the playoff
games.
 
3) Tend to produce champions and runner-ups with better records
(strengthening the conference in the NCAAs), but reduce the potential
for "surprises" and Cinderellas. (But not entirely - #10 RPI won both
of this past year's big upsets in enemy territory.)
 
4) Diminish media coverage and remove what always has the potential
to be a "Showcase of the Conference's Best".
 
Points 1 and 2 are positive, 3 is a wash, and 4 is in most people's
eyes negative. Potentially, an ECAC All Star Game / Awards Banquet
could effectively replace the Final Four's showcase / centralized
shmoozing role. (Also, every team would have several
representatives if you chose the top 42 players in the conference, and
so the fans and boosters of every school would be involved.)
 
 
Greg
Boston
(Great - now there's NOTHING of athletic interest left in this city.)
Let's Go Red!