Greg <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> When will the Eastern Regional NCAA site be awarded?  I think that the
> pool of potential sites for this and future years is actually quite
> small: Knickerbocker Arena (Albany), Lake Placid, Boston Garden, Conte
> Forum (Chestnut Hill), Providence Civic Centre, Hartford Civic Centre,
> Houston Field House (Troy), Onondaga Co. Memorial (Syracuse) - and some
> of those are a stretch.  Am I forgetting any contenders?  I assume the
> Aud, Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, and the Byrne Arena are
> all too far afield.
 
As long as you're mentioning long shots, there is the Centrum in Worcester and
the Civic Center in Springfield, MA.  Somewhat centralized (no less than
Hartford, in any case).  I'm not sure if either of these places would want it,
but Springfield does have an AHL team, while the Bruins play one or two
preseason games a year in Worcester.  The Aud would be too far west, the
Spectrum, MSG, and Nassau would be too far south, Lake Placid should be too
far north.  But then again there are those who claim that the Boston Gardens
should be too far east.  Just ask last year's ECAC final four! (do I need a
smiley here?)  Since we're talking an NCAA tournament (not ECAC or HE), any
place from Albany to Boston could be considered centralized (with Albany and
Boston being the extremes).  I'm against having it in a school arena.  Too much
"home ice advantage" should that school ever participate, besides, the
school arena don't even come close to seating the number of people some of
the "civic centers" do.  I know RPI used to have the largest seating area in
the east (at least they did when I attended there 15 years ago).  How do the
newer areans like Conte Forum stack up with Houston in seating capacity?