scpa0305 Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 Location is great...what are you talking about??!! 4 schools are within 6 hours of Minneapolis. Plus, the Target Center is right downtown. Plenty places to stay/eat/etc. The one thing that you could say wasn't ideal is the facility. Yeah, they had hockey there before (Final 5, state tourbnament) and it wasn't great. But they are going to renovate the place. I would assume that part of the renovation is to make it better for hockey. True ht X would have been the best location, But I think with these renovations taking place, it will still be good. Sorry guys....by location I meant venue. The Target Center is an absolute dump. I was at the final five there before they moved it to the Xcel and it wasn't that great. Again, sorry for the confusion....yes the location is great (especially since I live here :o) 1 Quote
Matt Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 The only thing I like about this is the location. This will be a hockey tournament played in a building specifically redesigned for T-Wolves basketball. There aren't any hockey renderings anywhere on the site, which tells me playing hockey is nowhere on their radar. The NCHC tournament committee will have a very tall order to make this building feel like a quality hockey rink. http://www.targetcenterrenovation.org/gallery.php 1 Quote
82SiouxGuy Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 The only thing I like about this is the location. This will be a hockey tournament played in a building specifically redesigned for T-Wolves basketball. There aren't any hockey renderings anywhere on the site, which tells me playing hockey is nowhere on their radar. The NCHC tournament committee will have a very tall order to make this building feel like a quality hockey rink. http://www.targetcenterrenovation.org/gallery.php My guess is that hockey is on the radar now, even if it wasn't before. They are still in the planning stages so they have time to make adjustments to the plans before they actually start construction. It's a multi-purpose building so it probably won't match the X or the Ralph for hockey comfort. But it could still end up being a decent building by the time they're done. Quote
Matt Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 My guess is that hockey is on the radar now, even if it wasn't before. They are still in the planning stages so they have time to make adjustments to the plans before they actually start construction. It's a multi-purpose building so it probably won't match the X or the Ralph for hockey comfort. But it could still end up being a decent building by the time they're done. I hope you are right. I will be waiting to see what hockey people they bring on board to have a voice in the planning and development of this project. The names of the people I've seen thus far are all MN basketball people. Quote
Mariucci Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 Yeah, saw that a few day Yeah, I read that a few days ago on uscho.com. The Target center is a terrible venue.....but I don't know where else they could have it. The Ralph would be sweet....but only the Goofs get that type of advantage. Yeah cause so many Final Fives have been played at Mariucci. 2 Quote
NDHockey Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 I hope you are right. I will be waiting to see what hockey people they bring on board to have a voice in the planning and development of this project. The names of the people I've seen thus far are all MN basketball people. The Target Center is essentially only going to host one weekend of hockey all year long so to expect them to make any major attempt at making the facility more "hockey friendly" is not realistic at all. We just have to accept it for what it is. A convenient location but not a great place for hockey. I have to say that I think the area around the Target Center is not quite as fan friendly as some portray. There have been more crime issues in that area in recent times. Part of that is probably due to the light rail transit. It can get out of hand down there in a hurry at night. I was down there this last weekend and it was a tad crazy. Not sure that area is quite as family friendly as I'd like to see for an event like this. It may be good for your average 20-something looking to party. But a lot of the fans that go to the playoffs aren't in that consumer demographic and bring their kids. Quote
The Sicatoka Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 If Target Center spends the money to improve itself as a hockey venue, you have to figure they're going to try to get more hockey events than just this one weekend. Quote
scpa0305 Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 Yeah cause so many Final Fives have been played at Mariucci. Pretty sure you understand exactly what I mean. No other team in college hockey (not even Boston teams) get more of a home field advantage than the Gophers...no team...not ever. Quote
scpa0305 Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 The Target Center is essentially only going to host one weekend of hockey all year long so to expect them to make any major attempt at making the facility more "hockey friendly" is not realistic at all. We just have to accept it for what it is. A convenient location but not a great place for hockey. I have to say that I think the area around the Target Center is not quite as fan friendly as some portray. There have been more crime issues in that area in recent times. Part of that is probably due to the light rail transit. It can get out of hand down there in a hurry at night. I was down there this last weekend and it was a tad crazy. Not sure that area is quite as family friendly as I'd like to see for an event like this. It may be good for your average 20-something looking to party. But a lot of the fans that go to the playoffs aren't in that consumer demographic and bring their kids. OK, you pretty much wrote exactly what I was thinking. The location is great....being in Minneapolis, however, I think many UND fans portay this similar to their Final Five weekends in St. Paul (at the X). Downtown Minny is much different and is not as welcoming as downtown St. Paul. The crime is terrible downtown Minny. I still think this is not a great place to have this event, but again, I also have no idea where else they could have it. Quote
gfhockey Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 I see midco sports net is hiring a bunch of tv positions to be located in GF hmmmmmm Quote
NDHockey Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 If Target Center spends the money to improve itself as a hockey venue, you have to figure they're going to try to get more hockey events than just this one weekend. Such as what? There is nothing locally that isn't already done at Xcel that requires something like Target Center. I could possibly see them going after a one time event like a World Jrs. but that's not reliable either. When you look at their plans for improvements, none of it is specifically related to hockey. Quote
NDHockey Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 OK, you pretty much wrote exactly what I was thinking. The location is great....being in Minneapolis, however, I think many UND fans portay this similar to their Final Five weekends in St. Paul (at the X). Downtown Minny is much different and is not as welcoming as downtown St. Paul. The crime is terrible downtown Minny. I still think this is not a great place to have this event, but again, I also have no idea where else they could have it. Yes, the surrounding areas of the two arenas are much different in feel. Quote
Fetch Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 What are some of the best Hotels near the Target Center ? I sure liked going to the X Quote
jodcon Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 What are some of the best Hotels near the Target Center ? I sure liked going to the X Most of the hotels really close to the TC are very expensive ($200.+), but there is a Holiday Inn and a Best Western fairly close that are more reasonable. Quote
siouxforeverbaby Posted June 11, 2012 Posted June 11, 2012 What are some of the best Hotels near the Target Center ? I sure liked going to the X One of the better things about the Target Center is that it is on the train line. So, you stay in Bloomington (cheaper?) and take the train. Quote
jdub27 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Most of the hotels really close to the TC are very expensive ($200.+), but there is a Holiday Inn and a Best Western fairly close that are more reasonable. In my past experience, a lot of those places tend to run a little cheaper during the weekend due to all the business travelers there during the week. There is a wide variety of options and levels of hotels. If you're willing to walk 6-8 blocks, there are a ton of options in that area. Quote
hockey1 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Pretty sure you understand exactly what I mean. No other team in college hockey (not even Boston teams) get more of a home field advantage than the Gophers...no team...not ever. Can you please explain what these "home field advantages" are that the Gophers get more than any other team. Quote
iceberg Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Can you please explain what these "home field advantages" are that the Gophers get more than any other team. Final 5 is held at the X which is what 10 minutes from Mariucci? No matter what game the goofs are in they get the night game. Its called "the Minnesota rule". So when it was a final 5 (5 teams not 5 games) even if the goofs were a 3 seed they got to play the night game and the #1 seed had to play the afternoon game. Quote
johnsowe Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 I am so sick of all these people blameing UND about screwing up college hockey. Quote
passit_offthegoalie Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 I am so sick of all these people blameing UND about screwing up college hockey. We had to do something after the Big Ten schools selfishly abandoned their leagues. The Big Ten Hockey Conference is reaping the lion's share of the benefits from the shake up, and people (esp. Gopher fans) have the balls to blame it on us? I hope Big Ten schools fail miserably. Quote
petey23 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 It's official. 5 yr deal!! http://www.fightings...TCLID=205437983 One exclamation point is probably overkill. Quote
ozzie679 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 OK, you pretty much wrote exactly what I was thinking. The location is great....being in Minneapolis, however, I think many UND fans portay this similar to their Final Five weekends in St. Paul (at the X). Downtown Minny is much different and is not as welcoming as downtown St. Paul. The crime is terrible downtown Minny. I still think this is not a great place to have this event, but again, I also have no idea where else they could have it. Downtown Mpls and the Warehouse District are extremely safe. Target Center is next to Target Field, and how many times have you heard people complain about crime when they talk about Target Field? They don't. Quote
siouxforce19 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Downtown Mpls and the Warehouse District are extremely safe. Target Center is next to Target Field, and how many times have you heard people complain about crime when they talk about Target Field? They don't. I feel safer downtown Minneapolis that in Uptown, where you get approached by cocaine dealers... Quote
crb1 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 Can you please explain what these "home field advantages" are that the Gophers get more than any other team. I will add another. Do the gophers have to travel and sleep in a hotel come tourney time? No they get to go about their normal routine. No other team that plays in the final five has that luxury at all. So with that the "Minnesota Rule" I start to see some advantages. Quote
ozzie679 Posted June 12, 2012 Posted June 12, 2012 I feel safer downtown Minneapolis that in Uptown, where you get approached by cocaine dealers... When was the last time you were in uptown Mpls? It's all atrsy fartsy hipsters and trendy BMW driving yuppies. Quote
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