I think you hit the nail on the head with the campus site thing.
The number of western arenas capable of hosting a regional dwarf the
eastern ones. The Dane and Munn have successfully done it the past two
years, while Minnesota and others have buildings large enough to host one.
        In the east only two teams have on campus facilities that seat
6,000+, UNH and UMass. Thw Whittemore Center is brand new as is Mullins
so I'm sure neither has received consideration in the past. Heck, UMass
didn't even have a team a couple of years ago. As you know (UNH '71)
Durham isn't exactly mid-town Manhattan, and I doubt it has enough hotel
rooms and the like to host the tourney, plus, it's a couple of hours from
a major airport. UMass meanwhile is new in the game but who knows what
the future holds. The school's athletic department reportedly received
rave reviews for its organization of the women's volleyball final four,
held in December at Mullins, helping to make the event the great success
that it was. Every year, UMass hosts more A-10 tournaments than any other
team in the conference and it isn't just because we win them all, it's
mainly the quality of the staff,
        As for the usual neutral sites, I have no gripes. Boston's only
one of the nation's biggest media markets, so I guess the
beautiful new FleetCenter's OK. Albany ensures that the ECAC crowd gets
included, that being probably the biggest city where they could feasibly
host it. Plus RPI (Troy) and Union (Schenectady) are close by. The Knick
is the biggest arena in upstate NY for now (the new Marine Midlands Arena
in Buffalo will kick its butt). Those on this list who attended last
year's final four will attest that Providence makes a good site too. If
UConn ever picks up their program, I bet that the arena in the mall will
make a great site as well. No more scheduling conflicts with the Whalers,
15,000+ seats, and plenty of great shopping, without even leaving the
building! You can buy an Alanis Morrisette CD and see Brendan Morrison
play at the same time! Cool, eh!
        Problems with the Garden is why the Centrum was built in the
first place, and why it remained popular for as long as it did. Now, I've
never "worked" a hockey game there, but my experiences from the World
Juniors and our basketball game there earlier this year against Memphis
will last a while. The building is terribly mismanaged and poorly run by
a pretty clueless staff. I did not walk away impressed from those events.
Having gone to many concerts and Mass Mauraders Arena Football games as a
kid as well, I'll attest that the place isn't fan friendly either.
 
Leigh
[log in to unmask]
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.