I attended the press conference yesterday introducing the media to the 2012 World Championships hosted by Finland and Sweden and with one planned next week in Calgary for the 2013 World Junior Championships in Ufa, Russia, I started thinking about what US cities would be good options to host the next World Junior Championships.
Next year, it's in Russia and in Malmo, Sweden for 2014 and a yet to be determined city in Canada in 2015. No one has bid on 2016, but it returns to Canada in 2017 in accordance with Hockey Canada's new agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that awards the tournament to a Canadian city at least every two years. Then, in 2018 it's slated for the US and obviously back in Canada for 2019.
So what are we looking for in a host city? First and foremost, a hockey market. Underneath that, I'm looking for one that would support the tournament without the crutch of being close to the Canadian boarder. We'd need two viable facilities in cities that are easy to get to that also have available practice rinks. Plus, some other attractions for fans to enjoy.
Now that I've got your wheels turning, I'm sure you've come up with some viable options….Here's what I've come up with.
Grand Forks, ND hosted the event in 2005 and would be a good option once again as far as markets go, but it's expensive to get to, there aren't many other attractions or things to do in the area and is a little too close to the Canadian boarder for this exercise.
Detroit poses an interesting option as it's a great hockey market that supports several OHL, NCAA and high school hockey programs and while most people suggesting Detroit on my unofficial twitter poll proposed a joint venture between the Motor City and Windsor, I doubt Hockey Canada would go for that strictly from a financial stand point. So, in addition to Joe Louis as the main rink. I'd propose Ann Arbor as the second host city using Yost Ice Arena at the University of Michigan. It seats over 6600 and will undergo a $14 million renovation this summer and you can use the Ann Arbor Ice Cube (home of the US National Team Development Program) as a practice facility with their three sheets. It's an interesting option, but I don't think it's the best.
Next on our list to consider is Boston, who hosted the tournament in 1996 and was not very well attended. It's on my list because I think it's a much bigger hockey market - not just Bruins - than it was 15 years ago and you can't overlook how much more popular college hockey is in the area. You could do a joint venture with Providence or Worcester and their AHL facilities, but I'd like to see it all in Boston with BU's Agganis Arena (6300) as the second facility. You could use Walter Brown as a practice rink or Northeastern's Matthews Arena or BC's Conte Forum. There's plenty of things to do in the area and it's easy to get to… I think it's worth taking a look at revisiting Boston as a host city.
Thinking somewhat outside of the box, we have Chicago. Great hockey market with a great facility at the United Center and for a second rink, you could use the Allstate Arena, home of the AHL Chicago Wolves, or make things really interesting and use the Kohl Center (15,000) in Madison, home of the Wisconsin Badgers, or the brand spanking new Compton Family Ice Arena (5000) at Notre Dame in South Bend, both of which have a practice facility attached to the main rink. Could be a really great option to consider.
Then we have Denver with the Pepsi Center as the main facility and while the University of Denver's Magness Arena (6000) is a good option for a second facility, I'm a bigger fan of using World Arena (7300) in Colorado College, but then we'd have one group on an NHL sized rink and another group on an Olympic sheet and I'm not a fan of that. In addition, people in Denver don't seem to be hockey fans. They're Avalanche fans or DU fans or CC fans, but I don't think they'd fill the arena when Finland and Switzerland face off. So in theory, it's a great option especially when you consider that USA Hockey essentially shares a parking lot with the World Arena, but in reality, there are better options.
I also like the idea of having it in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are great hockey markets and both sides of the state are producing more and more top level talent and their grassroots efforts are phenomenal, but I think having both cities involved is a stretch considering that they're a five to six hour drive apart. Therefore, I propose that you pick one - and I know that Pittsburgh has quite a bit of interest in exploring the possibility - and then use the soon-to-be-built Pegula Center (6000) at Penn State as the second facility. Could be a very interesting option.
As far as non-traditional options - There's New York City, which would be fun for international fans, but would likely get lost in the shuffle in such a big city. There's Florida where you could use the Lightning and Panthers' NHL rinks. European fans would love it and from a travel standpoint would be fairly inexpensive and easy to get to, but I don't think it would be able to stand on it's own. Then, there's Los Angeles and Anaheim. Yes, it's a big city, but both NHL teams have great attendance and we all know the substantial growth of youth hockey in California over the past decade and the elite players they've been producing…think of how big it will be in another six years. Throw in the Hollywood aspect and it could be a really intriguing possibility.
Hopefully you've noticed one glaring omission, which is of course my pick to host the 2018 World Junior Championships - Minneapolis & St Paul.
It is beyond perfect. They love every level of hockey as shown by their affinity for the Wild, the Gophers and their beloved High School tournament every March and could easily support the tournament without the aid of 13,000 Canadians, but would also be fairly easy for those north of the border to get to. You could have Xcel as the main rink and Marriucci Arena (9700) as the auxiliary rink and if you really want to make it something special turn either Target Field or the Metrodome into a Winter Wonderland. Combine it with the Winter Classic, held on a day that doesn't have any WJC games, if you want, but even if you just had a men's and woman's double header between the Gophers and the Bulldogs from Minnesota Duluth or Wisconsin or North Dakota…or even a high school hockey showcase and then open it up for public skating during the day. It would be a huge event.
So USA Hockey, if you're reading….make sure to copy and save and consider the possibilities.
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Want these game worn jerseys??
Hockey Canada and ebay.ca posted the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship auction on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Up for auction are Team Canada’s game-worn jerseys, gloves and helmets.
The jerseys up for grabs are Team Canada’s red alternate jerseys, worn exclusively by Canada’s 2012 National Junior Team at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton. These jerseys were worn in one pre-competition game, versus Finland on Dec. 19, and will also be worn during the Canada vs. Czech Republic preliminary round game on Dec. 28, 2011, while the helmets and gloves are worn throughout the tournament.
Canada’s roster includes returning players Brett Connolly, Quinton Howden, Jaden Schwartz and Mark Visentin as well 2011 NHL first-round picks Nathan Beaulieu, Dougie Hamilton, Jamie Oleksiak, Mark Scheifele and Ryan Strome, and 2010 NHL first-round picks Connolly, Howden, Mark Pysyk, Schwartz and Visentin, many of whom are future NHL stars currently representing Canada at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
All proceeds from the sale of game-worn items will go to the Hockey Canada Foundation, to assist with the funding of national development programs, national teams, and initiatives that promote the sport at all levels of the game.
The auction will last 10 days, starting Dec. 30, 2011 and closing Jan. 8, 2012.
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Julie
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