of NCAA championship games in 1991 when Northern Michigan edged a potent Boston University team 8-7 in three overtimes. But, that was a short trip to the old St. Paul Civic Center and it was much less of an event than it is these days.
Now, it matters not if the venue is a college hockey town (St. Louis, Tampa, Washington DC ) or even a hockey facility for that matter (Ford Field in Detroit in 2010). Certainly, times have changed , buildings have become downright lush and the fans expect more for their entertainment dollar. So now it's a three-day event filled with award ceremonies, hospitality tents, college hockey internet sites throwing hockey parties, skill competitions, Hoby Baker and Hockey Humanitarian ceremonies and lest I forget, a few hockey games. It's become quite profitable for the NCAA when they can jam 18.000 fans into an arena.
Several Center Ice Club members have made it an annual pilgrimage to attend the Frozen Four. Jeff , John and Jeanne Blackmore wouldn't miss it for the world. And, long time SCSU hockey fans Bill and Phyllis LaCroix have been attending the Frozen Four for close to two decades. I, on the other hand, decided a mere week before the event to join my brother-in-law, Bill Kangas, a Division III College Hockey coach at Williams (MA) on the trip to Denver. He was accompanying one of his players, Will Bruce, a finalist for the college hockey Humanitarian Award and suggested I join him.
So, I went to work - Priceline, Hotwire, Kayak, Travelocity, Cheap Airfares, Side Step -all of them and more looking for a last minute deal. Not to be found. Even though Denver is typically one of the most competitive routes from Minneapolis due to several major airlines typically battling for passengers the fares were downright scary -and, I travel a lot. After dozens of searches I finally gave in and squandered an obscene amount of frequent flyer miles on a direct first- class roundtrip flight to Denver. It turned out to be a brilliant move considering Frontier announced it was filing for bankruptcy the next day and American Airlines decided to eiminate nearly 200 flights that week due to maintenance issues.
No doubt, the NCAA needs to "Fast Track" a return trip to Denver as a site for the Frozen Four. Certainly, there are very few negatives to selecting Denver as a host city. In fact, it's a "no-brainer." Sure, there's lots of support for college hockey with Air Force, Colorado College and Denver University all within an hour of the Pepsi Center. And, with a reported 300 days of sunshine a year this city in the foothills of the Rockies can have some downright wonderful weather in early April. With the mountains within a short drive, those that wish to sightsee or go skiing can do so easily on the Friday "off day". The Coors Brewery is always a great tour or one could get lucky and catch the Colorado Rockies in town at Coors Field.
For those that are organized, deals do abound for airfare, hotels and travel packages to Denver (just don't expect to search a week before the event and find a bargain). Once you arrive in Denver, never fear, transportation is not a problem. If you're staying downtown Denver, forget a rental car. Jump the Super Shuttle or another transport service to your hotel . The Denver public transportation system is perhaps one of the best in the country and it's -inexpensive. Wether you are in the suburbs or in greater Denver, their renowned light rail will get you anywhere you want to go -safely and conveniently. The 16th Street Mall in the heart of downtown Denver, is loaded with shops and restaurants of all types and is a short walk from any downtown hotel. And, once you are there, it's free to take the buses that travel non-stop up and down 16th Street. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Denver and although it was claimed to be two miles from the Pepsi Center, it was a very easy walk. If you take a cab it's $6-8.
From casual to sophisticated, there is an outstanding number and variety of restaurants to choose from. You'll never even come close to running out of choices in a four day period. From deli's to hamburger joints to steak houses and fine dining it's a great variety at all price points. One of my favorites is the Samba Room located downtown Denver on Larimore Avenue. It's a Cuban Restaurant serving without a doubt the best mojito anywhere. We also hit the ESPN Zone on Saturday afternoon and were lucky enough to capture a booth with a great view of perhaps the largest flat- screen TV I've ever seen . Baskets of Buffalo Wings and Nachos, a local beer and a Stanley Cup matchup between the Red Wings and Predators made for a 'perfect" afternoon. Another great choice was Ted's Cafe, again located in downtown Denver and a short walk to the Pepsi Center. Apparently owned by Ted Turner, it's known for great service, wonderful food choices - particularly steak and more of an upscale feel with it's linen covered tables. My choice there was a 12 ounce bison steak and a glass of red wine - quite a pre-game meal prior to the championship game on Saturday.
But, let's not stop there. Once at the Pepsi Center one again has a variety of food choices, Whether it's a sit down restaurant on club level or a burger , pizza, or Mexican from a concession stand you'll never go hungry. The chocolate dipped cones on the main level are pretty much unavoidable and the variety of hot dogs, smoked sausages or bratwurst at another stand are tough to decide upon. And yes, for the health conscious they do have fruit and salads.
The Pepsi Center is expansive and typical of professional venues these days and in my opinion a notch below St. Paul's XCEL Center. But, it's still a fine facility and with a capacity of 18,500 it can handle the attendance this tournament now generates. The City and the Pepsi Center were well-prepared and have certainly set a standard that the Verizon Center in Washington, DC will be pressed to follow next year.
Congratulations to the City of Denver, the Pepsi Center and the NCAA for hitting a "home run" in 2008. It was a great weekend of college hockey and I'm already thinking of Washington DC next April. It'll be cherry blossom time and could turn out to be another sweet event.
Click here to add text.
