Siouxperfan7 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 We all know the frustrations with having the Frozen Faceoff at the Target Center. Many issues make the tournament not as great as to what it could be. I think I had mentioned before about how the NCHC is the premier conference in college hockey and needs to showcase its conference tournament in a premier arena. Well, Can't think of a better place than the Denny Sanford PRIMIER Center. Seriously, this arena would be absolutely perfect for the Frozen Faceoff. Here are my reasons. 1. Centrally located for more schools. Sure you don't get the influx of alumni from the Minneapolis area, but looking at the distance it is from each school, it is actually very comparable. Average distance from the 8 schools to Minneapolis is 507 miles. Average distance from the 8 schools to Sioux Falls is 504 miles. (Trust me, I did the math). Sure it will be farther if you want to drive for schools like Duluth and St. Cloud. But it will be much closer for Omaha and the Colorado schools. 2. Size of Arena As much as people don't want to hear it, the attendance at conference tournaments this year was the lowest it has been for years. Sure having the tournament in a huge arena is great, but when you have 8,000 in a 18000 seat arena, the atmosphere is horrible. The NCHC isn't having the attendance issues quite as bad as other conferences, but it could get by with playing in a smaller arena. The average attendance for the Frozen Faceoff this year was 11563. The Sanford Center holds 10678. No sure you can say that it is already to small, but I think a lot of that can be attributed to having alum so close in Minneapolis. Now moving it out of Minneapolis may hurt attendance a little but a slight dip in attendance is worth it considering the other advantages. 3. Hockey Arena The Denny Sanford Premier Center was built to host many events in Sioux Falls. But their primary tenant is the Sioux Falls Stampede. A USHL hockey team. They have experience maintaining the ice, boards, glass, etc. No more crazy bounces and slow ice to worry about. Also their staff working the game is used to hosting hockey games and they won't have people coming in and out during play. Having the tournament in an arena that is used to hosting hockey games is a huge advantage. We want the best conditions to play on and playing in a basketball arena converted to hockey is just not it. Also, the Sanford Center host many tournaments, mainly the Summit League basketball tourney at the end of the year. They have experience handling fans attending multiple sessions at one arena. There would be no wrist band debacle. 4. Size of Community I understand that going to the big city of Minneapolis is a great road trip for many fans and there is a lot to do besides before and after the games. But it's not like Sioux Falls is a tiny town. Population is about 165,000. There are plenty af bars, restaurants, and hotels that could accomodate fans. Also, when the NCHC Frozen Faceoff is in Sioux Falls, it would be THE event in town. Lots of people would be talking about it. No other teams are playing in the town. (Except the Stampede, but they would be out of town that weekend, obviously.) The city would take it seriously and would deffinitely make sure that the tournament is run smoothly. So those are just a few advantages I can see to moving the Frozen Faceoff to the new Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls SD. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeygirl97 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Sioux fans go anywhere. Do they have beer there? Then we're in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfhockey Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeygirl97 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Besides, who says we have to go to the Twin Cities all the time? There's a ton of Sioux fans in Denver too. And Sioux Falls is pretty close to everyone. I think it's time we stop catering to the Minnesota schools. Their fans can start travelling a little bit. It'd be good for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yelo09 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck because attendance was soooo great this year? UND would still fill the stands I can't really see the other schools attendance any worse than this year, especially with the pathetic showing by SCSU I really like this idea we were just talking about it the other night, bonus: it would eliminate the fair weather Rodent fan from attending because it's not in their back yard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightingsioux4life Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck. My buddy Siouxperfan7 put together a well thought-out post on this topic and that is all you have in response? Stop being a contrarian just for the sake of being a contrarian. And don't come back with "It's not feasible" and leave it at that; bring some meat to the table. This is as good of a solution to this problem I have seen up to this point. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mksioux Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 The NCHC knows where their tickets are purchased from. I don't have that information, but I suspect a big portion of their tickets were sold to people that live in the Twin Cities area. Sioux Falls is closer to Omaha, but I doubt you're going to get more than a few Omaha fans that will go to Sioux Falls that wouldn't go to Minneapolis. As for Denver and CC, Sioux Falls may technically be closer to Colorado, but that doesn't mean more Denver and CC fans would go there than Minneapolis. Denver and CC have almost no fan following and you're basically just going to have the players' parents regardless of whether it's in Minneapolis or Sioux Falls. In sum, you're not going to add hardly any new fans by placing it in Sioux Falls, but you'll lose lots of Minnesotans. The hardcore Sioux fans will still travel there, along with the players' parents, but that's about all you'd get. I'm not an expert on Sioux Falls' airport, but I suspect you'd also make air travel more difficult (and expensive) for those that fly. In other words, I think attendance would be worse, perhaps significantly worse, in Sioux Falls. Of course, unless you have access to the data, it's all just speculation. I just think that only a very small percentage of ticket purchasers from the Twin Cities would go to Sioux Falls. And I think that would end up being a pretty big hit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightingsioux4life Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 The NCHC knows where their tickets are purchased from. I don't have that information, but I suspect a big portion of their tickets were sold to people that live in the Twin Cities area. Sioux Falls is closer to Omaha, but I doubt you're going to get more than a few Omaha fans that will go to Sioux Falls that wouldn't go to Minneapolis. As for Denver and CC, Sioux Falls may technically be closer to Colorado, but that doesn't mean more Denver and CC fans would go there than Minneapolis. Denver and CC have almost no fan following and you're basically just going to have the players' parents regardless of whether it's in Minneapolis or Sioux Falls. In sum, you're not going to add hardly any new fans by placing it in Sioux Falls, but you'll lose lots of Minnesotans. The hardcore Sioux fans will still travel there, along with the players' parents, but that's about all you'd get. I'm not an expert on Sioux Falls' airport, but I suspect you'd also make air travel more difficult (and expensive) for those that fly. In other words, I think attendance would be worse, perhaps significantly worse, in Sioux Falls. Of course, unless you have access to the data, it's all just speculation. I just think that only a very small percentage of ticket purchasers from the Twin Cities would go to Sioux Falls. And I think that would end up being a pretty big hit. It can't be much worse that it was this year. And I for one do not plan on going to this event again until it is moved out of the landfill that is the Target Center. At least the Sioux Falls arena knows how to host the sport of hockey and won't make fools out of themselves doing it. But at least you brought something to the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redneksioux Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Coming from grand forks Id prefer it. Sioux fans in minneapolis may not make the trip. But then again plenty of Sioux fans traveled to omaha....so why not Sioux Falls for the frozen faceoff? I'm to the point where I don't plan on going to the target center next year. If it was in Sioux Falls Id seriously consider going. It's just my opinion but the target center and downtown Minneapolis are ruining the conference tournament that und plays in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeygirl97 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I was talking about all the Sioux fans in Denver, not the Denver fans in Denver. They buy 1/2 the season tickets for DU. Heck, I buy beer for every Denver fan I see at the Conference Tournament and let me tell ya, I'm not going broke doing it!! (It's about 2 a year). Would they travel to Sioux Falls? I don't know. I know some who would. But I also know, if you had the Conference Tournament in Denver, you wouldn't take a hit in attendance at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InHeavenThereIsNoBeer Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck. Attendance would suck gfhockey= Cratter, it all makes sense now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 My buddy Siouxperfan7 put together a well thought-out post on this topic and that is all you have in response? Stop being a contrarian just for the sake of being a contrarian. And don't come back with "It's not feasible" and leave it at that; bring some meat to the table. This is as good of a solution to this problem I have seen up to this point. You want me to point how lots of people wouldnt go because they dont already have friends they go see living in Minneapolis. The majority of UND fans traveling to the NCHC go because they make a weekend out of shopping and seeing old friends, and not to mention all the UND alumni already living there who go because its close and easy. Doesnt take a rocket scientist to know attendance wouldnt be good in Sioux Falls. Yeah lets hold it in a arena already smaller than the average attendance currently is. That makes sense. What "problem" are you trying to solve? Poor ice? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWSiouxMN Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 The NCHC knows where their tickets are purchased from. I don't have that information, but I suspect a big portion of their tickets were sold to people that live in the Twin Cities area. Sioux Falls is closer to Omaha, but I doubt you're going to get more than a few Omaha fans that will go to Sioux Falls that wouldn't go to Minneapolis. As for Denver and CC, Sioux Falls may technically be closer to Colorado, but that doesn't mean more Denver and CC fans would go there than Minneapolis. Denver and CC have almost no fan following and you're basically just going to have the players' parents regardless of whether it's in Minneapolis or Sioux Falls. In sum, you're not going to add hardly any new fans by placing it in Sioux Falls, but you'll lose lots of Minnesotans. The hardcore Sioux fans will still travel there, along with the players' parents, but that's about all you'd get. I'm not an expert on Sioux Falls' airport, but I suspect you'd also make air travel more difficult (and expensive) for those that fly. In other words, I think attendance would be worse, perhaps significantly worse, in Sioux Falls. Of course, unless you have access to the data, it's all just speculation. I just think that only a very small percentage of ticket purchasers from the Twin Cities would go to Sioux Falls. And I think that would end up being a pretty big hit. SF airport isn't too bad to get around, and I think they would be direct flights from Denver to SF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightingsioux4life Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 You want me to point how lots of people wouldnt go because they dont already have friends they go see living in Minneapolis. The majority of UND fans traveling to the NCHC go because they make a weekend out of shopping and seeing old friends, and not to mention all the UND alumni already living there who go because its close and easy. Doesnt take a rocket scientist to know attendance wouldnt be good in Sioux Falls. Yeah lets hold it in a arena already smaller than the average attendance currently is. That makes sense. See, was that so hard? If future tournaments are as bad as this one was, attendance will only get worse and worse. Something has to change. "Status quo" isn't an acceptable answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keikla Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 In sum, you're not going to add hardly any new fans by placing it in Sioux Falls, but you'll lose lots of Minnesotans. The hardcore Sioux fans will still travel there, along with the players' parents, but that's about all you'd get. I'm not an expert on Sioux Falls' airport, but I suspect you'd also make air travel more difficult (and expensive) for those that fly. In other words, I think attendance would be worse, perhaps significantly worse, in Sioux Falls. I think this is the key problem. Sioux fans who live in Grand Forks or the general area would fill it up, as perhaps would Omaha fans and the like. But for your average fans living in Minnesota, you lose out. You also lose out on a lot of long distance Sioux fans. Minneapolis is a reasonably easy airport to get to, whether you live in Phoenix, Denver, or Boston. But moving the tournament to a more rural location with a much smaller airport means that you likely lose out on a ton of those fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightingsioux4life Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I think this is the key problem. Sioux fans who live in Grand Forks or the general area would fill it up, as perhaps would Omaha fans and the like. But for your average fans living in Minnesota, you lose out. You also lose out on a lot of long distance Sioux fans. Minneapolis is a reasonably easy airport to get to, whether you live in Phoenix, Denver, or Boston. But moving the tournament to a more rural location with a much smaller airport means that you likely lose out on a ton of those fans. We aren't selling out the Target Center with all these "advantages" and I don't think that will change. I do not want this tournament to start looking like those Division II Women's Elite Eight tournaments in Pine Bluff, AR back in the late 1990's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keikla Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 We aren't selling out the Target Center with all these "advantages" and I don't think that will change. I do not want this tournament to start looking like those Division II Women's Elite Eight tournaments in Pine Bluff, AR back in the late 1990's. I'm not saying the Target Center is the perfect option. I'm just saying I don't think Sioux Falls is the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cratter Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Make the upper and lower bowl the same prices at the target center = packed lower bowl. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxScore Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I want it out of Target Center but I don't think the attendance would be real great in Sioux Falls. My guess is on a good year you would maybe get 5,000 there ideally the tournament would be in the X but if that can't happen I wouldn't mind seeing it rotate between a few campus sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keikla Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I want it out of Target Center but I don't think the attendance would be real great in Sioux Falls. My guess is on a good year you would maybe get 5,000 there ideally the tournament would be in the X but if that can't happen I wouldn't mind seeing it rotate between a few campus sites. The problem with campus sites is that the event needs to be prepped ahead of time. Could you imagine planning for the Frozen Faceoff on the Omaha campus only to have Omaha not make it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegas_Sioux Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Why not the mts center in Winnipeg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightingsioux4life Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Why not the mts center in Winnipeg. That would be cool in so many ways. But I suppose the NCAA would rule it "illegal" somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringneck28 Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Everyone one here is really trying to get a good thing back that we had at the X. It isn't going to happen in the next few years because of contracts. I don't know if breach of contract, ie. bad ice or lack of services could get them out of the contract. Sioux Falls is a no go in my mind because of lack of built in ticket buyers. Twin Cities is a huge alumni base for ND, Duluth, and some of the other schools. I would just say that we have to get used to this and hope against all odds that the NCHC understands that without UND there, they have what happened at the Joe happen here. There will be a time that UND doesn't make it and then watch out, that is going to be a ghost arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Arena Man Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Attendance would suck But you could always hang out at SCARLET O HARES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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