With the Ice Breaker Tournament coming to KC in 2012, could the NCAA Frozen Four be next?
It’s a little early, but we’re approaching the next round of Frozen Four bids in the near future. Bids will officially be taken this fall for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Frozen Fours, and will be announced in spring or summer 2010.
To date, the only four cities which have officially announced as preparing to bid are Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., and Omaha, Neb.
Kansas City – KC has been patiently waiting for their chance to host a Frozen Four, missing out in 2000 and 2005 for different reasons. The city was short-listed in 2000, but lost on a bid centered around Kemper Arena, an older facility. 2005 was instead centered around the Sprint Center, a newer, state-of-the-art facility which hopes to attract an NBA or NHL team, but in 2005 the building existed only on paper, breaking ground just days after failing to make the short-list cut. Now the building is a reality and has drawn rave reviews. With another bid in the works, and with the Hockey Commissioners Association placing the 2012 IceBreaker there, KC may just make the short-list again and could be a favorite for a bid if everything shakes out well.
Let me make this statement right now.
The Ice Breaker Tournament and the possibility of the Frozen Four have NO RELATION WHATSOEVER to an NHL team coming to KC. All this means is that we have a nice building in a good size city that can host an NCAA Tournament. It does not mean that there is a potential owner that may want to come to KC and, then, gets a favorable lease from AEG that projects to produce more revenue than the building in which the team currently plays.
