ECAC Tournament Moves To Atlantic City

This was a big surprise:

Starting in 2011, the ECAC Hockey Tournament will be held in Atlantic City.

I agree with most of what people have been saying. The tournament has been held since 2003 at the Times-Union (née Pepsi) Center in Albany, which is as close to a central location as you can get for the ECAC schools. The location had great potential for attendance, particularly since Cornell always sent a lot of fans there, it was reasonably proximate to Clarkson and St. Lawrence, and RPI and Union were right down the road. Unfortunately, neither Union nor RPI ever made it to Albany, and attendance has dropped from its peak of 16,000 in 2005 to 8,000 last year. Without Cornell fans, it would have been around 4,000.

Atlantic City, with its boardwalk, casinos, and all that crap, was probably able to guarantee a lot of money for the ECAC. They're hoping that a lot of NYC-area alumni will make the trip. And maybe some other fans who aren't so interested in the hockey but would go for the attractions and everything else.

On the other hand, this move is devastating for students. Over on eLynah, RichH compiled a list of the driving times from each ECAC school to Atlantic City, with asterisks next to those who have to drive through New York City:

Princeton:    1:45
New Haven:    3:46*
Hamden:       3:49*
Schenectady:  4:39*
Troy:         4:40*
Ithaca:       5:09
Providence:   5:22*
Hamilton:     5:42
Allston:      5:53*
Hanover:      6:45*
Canton:       7:32
Potsdam:      7:46

Imagine if you're a Clarkson or St. Lawrence student and your team is playing in the first semifinal at 4pm on Friday. You have to leave pretty early in the morning and drive all day in order to make it there for the game. The drive from Cornell is not only an extra couple of hours, but a lot harder than the drive down deserted I-88.

There's also the cost of lodging. A lot of students, myself included, have friends at Union, RPI, or SUNY Albany with whom we can stay. I don't think there are many places to stay for free around Atlantic City. Students might balk at the possibility of having to split a hotel room for a couple of nights.

If the league can attract enough alumni, they can afford to lose the students. And the most dedicated fans will always make the trip, whether the tournament is held in Albany, Atlantic City, or Timbuktu. I'm just glad I won't still be a student when the tournament goes to Atlantic City for the first time.