Gophers athletic director wants outdoor hockey game at TCF Bank Stadium

[BleedGopher]

per 1500:

Teague said on his radio show on 1500 ESPN on Monday night that the university is researching having an outdoor game and that it wouldn't necessarily have to be tied to having the Wild play in the NHL's Winter Classic at the same time.

"It does not look like there are a lot of obstacles in the way of doing that," Teague said. "Hopefully, it will happen soon. We should do it, there's no reason not to. ... I'd like to do it next year, but we're kind of set with the (Gophers) schedule. Maybe in two years."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...outdoor_hockey_game_at_TCF_Bank_Stadium020513

Go Gophers!!

 

[GophersInIowa]

That would be awesome.

 

[Twynntown]

That WOULD be awesome. I think anyone that follows hockey would love to see that. And you know that even non-hockey fans will come if the party is big enough.

If Teague can make it happen, great. Lucia has been asked why Minnesota hasn't hosted one of these games yet, and he has always said that it's a cost issue. Don't quote me on this, but I believe the figure he threw out there was $60,000. I don't know enough about the subject to understand how other cities are able to afford it. I would guess sponsorship plays a big part in it. And yeah, I get it, you charge $10 a ticket at a 50,000 seat venue, and you've got like..........more than $60,000. But I would assume that there are a ton of other costs involved, including manpower and liability costs.

You assume that someone in Norwood Teague's position would not put comments like that out there without doing his homework, so let's make that happen.

 

[Gopherdrummer]

That WOULD be awesome. I think anyone that follows hockey would love to see that. And you know that even non-hockey fans will come if the party is big enough.

If Teague can make it happen, great. Lucia has been asked why Minnesota hasn't hosted one of these games yet, and he has always said that it's a cost issue. Don't quote me on this, but I believe the figure he threw out there was $60,000. I don't know enough about the subject to understand how other cities are able to afford it. I would guess sponsorship plays a big part in it. And yeah, I get it, you charge $10 a ticket at a 50,000 seat venue, and you've got like..........more than $60,000. But I would assume that there are a ton of other costs involved, including manpower and liability costs.

You assume that someone in Norwood Teague's position would not put comments like that out there without doing his homework, so let's make that happen.

It actually is quite expensive to set up a sheet of ice for an event like this. For example, Michigan barely broke even for their record breaking game at the Big House. But they also sandwiched the game between two football games. What they did get however, was added value to their brand for Michigan Hockey. Everyone knows that the game was the largest crowd ever to watch one hockey game in person. No one will forget that.

I believe UW actually lost money when they hosted an outdoor game a few years back. The key is to set up the rink weeks before the game and allow people to skate on it. The longer a rink is set up, the more return you get on your investment.

Either way, any Gopher hockey game held outside at TCF will sell out in an instant. Is it a risk financially? Sure. Is it totally worth it? Absolutely.

 

[RochesterGopher]

What if you put some high school hockey teams or other minnesota college teams as well? Make an entire hockey weekend out of it? Had Wisconsin or Michigan done that when they did thiers?

 

[Twynntown]

That I don't know, but I'm guessing you've seen what they've been doing at Soldier Field? They have been doing open skates, and this weekend they're hosting some High School games. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I believe a couple of Minnesota HS teams were invited to play, and wanted to play, but they couldn't because of some MHSHL rule about the distance teams were allowed to travel to play a game. Anyway, I like the idea of having a little HS tourney, and maybe an MIAC tournament? Would be good for local business too OR, now that we're heading for the B1G, how about starting an annual weekend tournament with all of the in-state teams (UMD, MSU, & SCSU)?

What if you put some high school hockey teams or other minnesota college teams as well? Make an entire hockey weekend out of it? Had Wisconsin or Michigan done that when they did thiers?