(written Friday, July 30, 1993)
 
I've visited hockey heaven.  It has maroon and gold seats.
 
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Mariucci Arena at the University of
Minnesota took place today, and I atttended as the unofficial HOCKEY-L
reporter.  The ceremony was held in the east end atrium, and included
comments by University of Minnesota President Nils Hasselmo, Men's Athletic
Director MacKinley Boston, Head Coach Doug Woog, and Gopher All-Americans
John Mayasich and Neal Broten.
 After the ceremony, Coach Woog led members of the media on a tour of the
arena.  The general public, we were informed, would not be able to see the
inside of the arena at that time.  I decided to join the tour, determined to
at least get a peek before being asked to leave.  There were enough people
on the tour, though, that no one ever noticed that I wasn't supposed to be
there.  If asked, I would have explained that I was covering the event for
the College Hockey  Discussion List and that hundreds of college hockey fans
all over the country would read what I wrote.  But no one asked me.  All you
need to do is look like you know what you're doing.
 
The rink is Olympic-size, 200 feet by 100 feet.  There are 8,316 seats;
total capacity including standing room and wheelchair spaces totals 9,130.
The seats are in 22 rows surrounding the rink, with the 23rd row set aside
for standing room.  Another 175 seats are in a private-access club area
above the west end.    Fans enter the arena at street level, then take
stairs or escalators up to the concourse level, which surrounds the seating
area.  Concessions and restrooms are located on the outer walls, so the
concourse area provides an unobstructed view of the ice.  Unlike the old
arena, there are no bad seats in the new Mariucci Arena.   I tried to find
some, but there aren't any.  The view from the last row in the corner is
better than about 90% of the seats in the old arena.  The theater-style
seats are mostly maroon, with gold seats in the middle three sections of
each side forming large block M's.  A neat touch.
 
The team benches are on the south side of the rink, on opposite sides of the
red line.  Hallways lead directly from the benches to the locker rooms.  The
new arena has eight locker rooms, compared to two in the old arena.  There
are also weight-training rooms and study areas for the athletes, as well as
offices for the hockey staff.  The spacious press box is on the south side
of the arena is connected to the locker room area and the rest of the arena
by elevator.  This will come as a welcome relief to veterans of the old
Mariucci Arena pressbox.
 
This arena has everything that a hockey fan could ask for.  It has
comfortable seating with unsurpassed sightlines.  All through the project we
fans had been assured that there would be no bad seats.  Now that I have
seen it, I finally believe that it's true.  The arena has an Olympic-size
rink, which will encourage the fast-skating, free-flowing style of play that
has characterized Minnesota hockey through the years.  Players and coaching
staff will have access to the finest facilities in college hockey.
Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey finally has a state of the art facility that
will be its home for many years to come.
 
Though the old arena is no more, the tradition will be carried over to the
new.  At the end of last season, the championship banners were taken down in
a moving ceremony that will never be forgotten by those who attended.  On
August 21, the new Mariucci Arena will host its first public event, the
Alumni Legends game which will bring together 66 former Golden Gopher
All-Americans, Olympians, and professional players.  The players will wear
1950's era replica  jerseys similar to those that will be worn by the
varsity in all home games this season.  The championship banners will be
raised at that time.
 
The first intercollegiate game will be the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
exhibition between the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the
Michigan Tech Huskies on Friday, October 15.  The Huskies will also be
wearing old-style jerseys, so the game will be quite a colorful affair.
 
When I got home from work, I found a letter in our mailbox from the ticket
office, informing Paula and me of our seat locations for the coming season.
Seventh row, on the red line.  I can't wait for the season to begin.
 
-- Erik
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Erik Biever
 
Ski-U-Mah!
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