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Pittsburgh named finalist for 2018 WJC

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Who is it that actually puts the bid in and to whom? Is the tourney granted to the country and then USA hockey decides on the city? Or is it to the IIHF?
 
patnyrnyg said:
Who is it that actually puts the bid in and to whom? Is the tourney granted to the country and then USA hockey decides on the city? Or is it to the IIHF?
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The IIHF awards the tournament to a country, and then the country decides which city/arenas to host the tournament in. So, the cities submit their bids to USA Hockey who ultimately decide who will be the host.
 
‏@usahockey -

USA Hockey will announce the host site for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship this week!

Mike Harrington ‏@BNHarrington -

Does Buffalo get a repeat bid? or do they go to Pittsburgh or St. Louis? Things are a lot better here (Buffalo) than 2011 too.
 
I'm as biased as it gets but I hope it's Pittsburgh/Erie with Team Canada and Team USA in separate divisions. Buffalo would be a great host, but Pittsburgh isn't really that much further for the die-hard Canadian fans. Pittsburgh isn't a huge hockey city like Buffalo but there's a lot more money in people's pockets to be spent. The suburbs around Pittsburgh are filled with rich people. I'd expect the European games to have lower-than-usual attendance but not anything that'd seriously affect profit margins. Team USA games will sell out and if they make the semi-finals/championship game they can charge whatever they want and people will come.

Erie has a core base of roughly 2,000 fans that'll watch any hockey they possibly can. Even when the Otters had 10-20 win seasons they drew average crowds of 3,000+. The arena was just renovated a couple years back too. The distance sucks (2 hrs from Pittsburgh) but the facility is great and locals will fill quite a few seats.

Selfishly, I'm really hoping Canada ends up playing games in Erie. If Canadian fans travel as well as I've heard for the WJC it'd be great for the city. We literally get busloads of Canadians that come to our mall all year around. 0% tax on clothing in Pennsylvania. (I was in Toronto this summer and I had a Connor McDavid Otters t-shirt on...some lady in one of the bars asked if I was from Erie, so I assumed she was talking McDavid and started saying something about Marner being a good pick. I came to find out she had no idea who Connor McDavid is but she does come to Erie a few times a year to shop!)
Anyways, it'd be a big boost for Erie. It's close enough to make an easy drive but far enough away that people would probably stay in hotels. Erie has had a surprisingly large number of European imports play in the WJC over the years, I know some Otters fans that'll buy tickets solely to see them play. Crossing my fingers on this one.
 
****! I would have went to a game or 2 if it was in Pitts.

I love this tournament. It may be my favorite hockey all season long outside of Isles-Rags games and playoffs.
 
Buffalo is a great place for hockey, I just dont like this choice, I feel like they're relying too much on Canada. Canada is basically co-hosting this now. I think Pittsburgh/Erie would have been a better balance. It's still very driveable for Ontario fans and there are international airports, but it would help to grow the game more in other American cities.
 
Dhockey16 said:
I'm as biased as it gets but I hope it's Pittsburgh/Erie with Team Canada and Team USA in separate divisions. Buffalo would be a great host, but Pittsburgh isn't really that much further for the die-hard Canadian fans. Pittsburgh isn't a huge hockey city like Buffalo but there's a lot more money in people's pockets to be spent. The suburbs around Pittsburgh are filled with rich people. I'd expect the European games to have lower-than-usual attendance but not anything that'd seriously affect profit margins. Team USA games will sell out and if they make the semi-finals/championship game they can charge whatever they want and people will come.

Erie has a core base of roughly 2,000 fans that'll watch any hockey they possibly can. Even when the Otters had 10-20 win seasons they drew average crowds of 3,000+. The arena was just renovated a couple years back too. The distance sucks (2 hrs from Pittsburgh) but the facility is great and locals will fill quite a few seats.

Selfishly, I'm really hoping Canada ends up playing games in Erie. If Canadian fans travel as well as I've heard for the WJC it'd be great for the city. We literally get busloads of Canadians that come to our mall all year around. 0% tax on clothing in Pennsylvania. (I was in Toronto this summer and I had a Connor McDavid Otters t-shirt on...some lady in one of the bars asked if I was from Erie, so I assumed she was talking McDavid and started saying something about Marner being a good pick. I came to find out she had no idea who Connor McDavid is but she does come to Erie a few times a year to shop!)
Anyways, it'd be a big boost for Erie. It's close enough to make an easy drive but far enough away that people would probably stay in hotels. Erie has had a surprisingly large number of European imports play in the WJC over the years, I know some Otters fans that'll buy tickets solely to see them play. Crossing my fingers on this one.
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Ok nvm
 
EON 93 said:
Buffalo is a great place for hockey, I just dont like this choice, I feel like they're relying too much on Canada. Canada is basically co-hosting this now. I think Pittsburgh/Erie would have been a better balance. It's still very driveable for Ontario fans and there are international airports, but it would help to grow the game more in other American cities.
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It'll be successful there but they should've had the guts to take a risk. The US doesn't get this tournament often, I don't know how they expect to increase interest in what is truly an awesome event if they aren't willing to go into non-traditional hockey markets.
 
Dhockey16 said:
It'll be successful there but they should've had the guts to take a risk. The US doesn't get this tournament often, I don't know how they expect to increase interest in what is truly an awesome event if they aren't willing to go into non-traditional hockey markets.
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Really the only way interest in this event can be increased in the U.S. is if ESPN has preview shows, highlights, and shows games for the WJC like TSN does. TSN is one of the main reasons the tournament has grown so much in Canada.
 
WJZ3 said:
Really the only way interest in this event can be increased in the U.S. is if ESPN has preview shows, highlights, and shows games for the WJC like TSN does. TSN is one of the main reasons the tournament has grown so much in Canada.
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Whether ESPN takes any further interest in the NHL and hockey in general rides on the success of the 2016 World Cup. It has to be a success if the NHL hopes to gain any more popular support in the US. National support for the game won't get any better with the NBC only contract. Regionally teams do well but often American fans don't know more than a dozen players on other teams. ESPN is necessary if they want true growth

If what I'm reading about the Canada v US game being held outdoors is true, USA Hockey/IIHF can shove it. They wasted our time and money putting together this bid when they should've been up front and said the #1 priority is to maximize revenue. My parents are from Buffalo and I love the place but I genuinely hope it fails miserably. As in, massive rain/hail storms for several weeks so the game is impossible to play and they lose money. An outdoor junior hockey game wouldn't happen at Heinz Field or PNC Park, they knew the second this was a possibility they'd be going with Buffalo.They strung Pittsburgh/Erie and St. Louis along.
 
I don't love the Outdoor game component of this...but the choice of Buffalo is a no-brainer.
Pittsburgh or St. Louis just don't have comparable facilities.
Has anyone here been to HarborCenter? It's two brand new rinks (one seats about 2,000) with world class exercise facilities and a new Marriott Hotel all under one roof. Oh and it's basically attached to the First Niagara Center where the Sabres play. How is any other American city gonna compete with that plus you get the added bonus of all the cross-border ticket sales.

For all those that think the organizers should be "exposing" other parts of the country to amateur hockey that's just nonsense. Pittsburgh and St. Louis don't need to be educated about hockey. There's a lot more money to be made by having it in Western New York. That's the bottom line.
 
zman said:
I don't love the Outdoor game component of this...but the choice of Buffalo is a no-brainer.
Pittsburgh or St. Louis just don't have comparable facilities.
Has anyone here been to HarborCenter? It's two brand new rinks (one seats about 2,000) with world class exercise facilities and a new Marriott Hotel all under one roof. Oh and it's basically attached to the First Niagara Center where the Sabres play. How is any other American city gonna compete with that plus you get the added bonus of all the cross-border ticket sales.

For all those that think the organizers should be "exposing" other parts of the country to amateur hockey that's just nonsense. Pittsburgh and St. Louis don't need to be educated about hockey. There's a lot more money to be made by having it in Western New York. That's the bottom line.
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Agreed!
We bought tickets the last time it was held in Buffalo but maybe not this time with the outdoor game.
Really really have a huge dislike for them. Quite lousy hockey and even worse viewing for fans.
 
zman said:
I don't love the Outdoor game component of this...but the choice of Buffalo is a no-brainer.
Pittsburgh or St. Louis just don't have comparable facilities.
Has anyone here been to HarborCenter? It's two brand new rinks (one seats about 2,000) with world class exercise facilities and a new Marriott Hotel all under one roof. Oh and it's basically attached to the First Niagara Center where the Sabres play. How is any other American city gonna compete with that plus you get the added bonus of all the cross-border ticket sales.

For all those that think the organizers should be "exposing" other parts of the country to amateur hockey that's just nonsense. Pittsburgh and St. Louis don't need to be educated about hockey. There's a lot more money to be made by having it in Western New York. That's the bottom line.
Click to expand...

UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex just opened a couple months ago too.
 
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