[to use a phrase first coined by CCHA commish Bill Beagan back in '86 in Providence during the NCAA Championships...] Regarding Maine's schedule for next season, someone wondered if the 10/26 Hall of Fame Classic in Detroit would be played at The Joe. I'm not sure, but yesterday it was reported that Olympia Arenas, Inc. (manages Joe Louis Arena) decided not to renew the Junior Wings' lease to play at The Joe. According to the Detroit Free press, Peter Karmanos, owner of the Junior Red Wings, was told that CCHA officials were unhappy with the OHL team's presence because it affected crowds for college games. From my experience, college games have been sparsely attended at The Joe (though the Jr Wings were not playing then obviously), but this is not necessarily true on campuses located relatively near Detroit (i.e. Ann Arbor and Lansing). In a released statement by Atanas Ilitch, Red Wings Vice President, said: "...Upon expiration of their five-year lease this summer, we were forced to make a business decision based on the financial stability of the arrangement and our desire to bring additional family shows, concerts and college hockey games to Joe Louis Arena and the city of Detroit." [source: Detroit Free Press, 07/05/95] My read on this is Ilitch will be looking at hosting some more NCAA championships down the road (has a place been decided after Cincinnati?), in addition to the regularly scheduled CCHA Championships and GLIs. And who knows maybe even some NCAA regionals to compete with Grand Rapids and Lansing sites. The first NCAA finals held at The Joe was back in 1985, then there was one in 1987. The last one was held in 1990. I attended the last two (nothing much to cheer for, but some great hockey played; also was at the NCAA finals in 1977--more to cheer for but Michigan lost to Wisconsin ;-(). Anyways, I'm not sure how they compare to other locations, but here are the attendance figures at The Joe for the NCAA Championships: Year Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 1990 14,174 15,034 --- 1987 7,526 14,093 17,644 1985 10,696 12,484 16,282 MC -- Mike Collingridge [log in to unmask]