All this talk about the old and new Clarkson arenas leads me to comment
"again" on a topic with a more western (read CCHA) flavor; Michigan's
Yost ice arena.  Yost is an old barn (this may be a literal reference)
of a place.  Inside and out it virtually drips with history and
atmosphere and tradition.  If you're a Michigan fan, this place has got
to seem like hockey heaven and you don't mind the cramped quarters, poor
parking and long waits both in your car and out.  However, to those
fans of opposing teams who would like to visit, the place leaves quite a
bit to be desired.  It used to be we had to suffer through the lack of
creature comforts and hostility to get "seats" in a high corner behind
a large roof support.  But since Michigan has decided not to sell those
tickets anymore, we, specifically I, can't even get in anymore which
leads me to mention that the real subject of this post should be "Why I'm
PO'd About Having To Watch The Michigan/LSSU Game In A Smokey Bar In
Ypsilanti Where The Only Good Of The Evening Was Cheap Beer And The Fish
Fry".
 
Anyway, to make a long and meaningless post just a little more meaningful,
when does a university decide to upgrade a hockey arena?  Obviously many
have either upgraded or built new.  What caused them to make this
decision?  Yost does hold a lot of people (around 7,000 every game) but
more would go if they could.  At what point are the benefits of tradition
and atmosphere overridden by the need for more parking, shorter walks and
just better access in general?
 
--
Matt Wickey                                 LSSU '86
CIMLINC Inc.                                National Champs 88 92 94
[log in to unmask]                     Go LAKERS!
 
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