July 13, 2010
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Pittsburgh, Philadelphia Win Bids to Host Frozen Four
CHN Staff Report
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, two cities at the opposite ends of Pennsylvania, have won bids to host the Frozen Four in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the NCAA announced today.
The state did not house a Division I hockey teamuntil this decade with the addition of Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, but both sites are home to popular NHL teams. Philadelphia had Penn at one point, but that program was disbanded in 1977. Neither site has hosted the Frozen Four before.
The sites will follow St. Paul, Minn. (2011), and Tampa Bay (2012).
Pittsburgh's Frozen Four will be in its new arena, the Consol Energy Center, which is near completion and scheduled to be opened this August. The Pittsburgh Penguins have played their games in Mellon Arena (a.k.a. 'The Igloo') for decades.
Philadelphia's will be held in the Wells Fargo Center, which first opened as the Core States Center in 1996, when its first hockey events were hosting some games during the World Cup of Hockey. It was known as the Wachovia Center until last month. Unlike most other venues that have hosted the Frozen Four, the Wachovia Center is not close to downtown Philadelphia.
Shut out in this round was Boston, after it had been reported it was a shoo-in for 2014. Boston has been a popular venue in the past, but has not hosted since 2004.
“The number of quality bids submitted made the process of choosing the host sites extremely difficult for the committee,” said Bill Bellerose, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and associate athletic director at College of the Holy Cross. “We are extremely pleased with every aspect of both winning bids - from the venue, to the community support to the cities themselves, everything will be first-class. We are confident both sites will put forth the ultimate championship experience for the student-athletes and fans alike.”
(More to follow)
