Coliseum rink at State Fair is closing for good

[east hockey]

i
That was indeed a nice upset by Cloquet, earning them the right to lose to East in OT in the section final.

Lee

And who was East's next loss to?

(Hint: it was on a Saturday night in Saint Paul)[/quote]

Umm...the Red Army Team?

Lee

[Traxler]

i
That was indeed a nice upset by Cloquet, earning them the right to lose to East in OT in the section final.

Lee

And who was East's next loss to?

(Hint: it was on a Saturday night in Saint Paul)[/quote]

Yeah, that 5-3 loss to Hill-Murray in the finals was a downer. I really thought East would take that game and their first title since 1960. But, they had to wait until 1995.

[Doc Holliday]

White bear loves that Mariucci ice

Outstanding!

[stpaul]

White bear loves that Mariucci ice

Oh those monumental and memorable consolation round battles!

[Nuts&Bolts]

When the Cow-iseum goes away next year what are the chances the sections impacted use Ridder Arena? Ridder seems under used and I think is a better venue than Mariucci with the Olympic sheet. If Ridder hold 3500 people (guess) wouldn't this work?

[almostashappy]

When the Cow-iseum goes away next year what are the chances the sections impacted use Ridder Arena? Ridder seems under used and I think is a better venue than Mariucci with the Olympic sheet. If Ridder hold 3500 people (guess) wouldn't this work?

Of course it would work. But it would work this year as well as it would work next year and the powers that be choose to play at the Coliseum, so don't expect logic to play into their decision.

[ZachHalverson]

When the Cow-iseum goes away next year what are the chances the sections impacted use Ridder Arena? Ridder seems under used and I think is a better venue than Mariucci with the Olympic sheet. If Ridder hold 3500 people (guess) wouldn't this work?

For Section 4 you might as well move it to Aldrich then. Similar seating capacity, free parking, and a much more convenient location. That is if you want to possibly turn a couple thousand people away at the door.

The Coliseum officially holds 5250 but as Dave Wright has had to announce many times, the fire marshall hasn't necessarily been comfortable with attendance and many more, especially for the finals, get through the doors. Dropping down to a 3500 venue like Aldrich or Ridder would turn plenty of people–and money–away, something I am sure neither section will want.

I'm thinking Mariucci is the only option if the sections want room for everyone. They won't sell out the arena and the atmosphere will suck as it does for the 6/2 finals, but at least everyone who wants to go will be able to.

There have been NO rumblings about this at all but I have to wonder if perhaps the Target Center might try to sway the sections into bringing the tournament finals there. The place will have ice for the NCHC tournament around that time, and the NHL sized ice might be attractive to some of the coaches, especially Section 2 and 6 coaches, that have complained in the past about Mariucci's olympic sized ice sheet.

I know the Target Center idea has plenty of cons and is somewhat crazy, but it certainly isn't way out of the question. Right?

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

When the Cow-iseum goes away next year what are the chances the sections impacted use Ridder Arena? Ridder seems under used and I think is a better venue than Mariucci with the Olympic sheet. If Ridder hold 3500 people (guess) wouldn't this work?

Ridder may be adequate for semis finals for 3AA, 4AA & 5AA, but wouldn't work for the finals, even if they were separate sessions.

As far as Mariucci, it can get complicated by the Golden Rats home games. As a land grant university supported by the citizens of Minnesota, it would seem reasonable for Lucia's squad to be out of town on the two weekends before the state tournamtent.

Jeez I hope these games don't get moved to the Woofies' Arena. It's nearly as bad for hockey as the Coliseum and parking isn't free.

[jBlaze3000]

This is too bad. Take my boys there to watch the section finals every year. Walking in there is like stepping back in time. Such a great atmosphere with a packed house, pep bands, and rowdy fans with a trip to the X on the line.

[Ogie]

I guess the best food couldn't make up for the crappiest overall venue.

What a shame.

[Ogie]

It was a nice run...
What is your greatest coliseum memory ?

I would have to say the three years Mounds View won their ticket to St. Paul there.

I can’t remember who they beat.

Maybe Lee and/or Karl could refresh my memory.

[east hockey]

It was a nice run...
What is your greatest coliseum memory ?

I would have to say the three years Mounds View won their ticket to St. Paul there.

I can’t remember who they beat.

Maybe Lee and/or Karl could refresh my memory.

No fair to Karl. He wasn't born yet.

Lee

[timmyo]

I haven't posted here in a long, long time, but I've been smiling while reading this thread.

As gawd-awful the Coliseum was as a hockey venue, the storied hockey history so many great kids built over the years turned it into a special place.

Three of my favorite hockey moments happened on the Fairgrounds: two were Elk River section championships - 2004 and 2005. The kid was on both teams, and was captain for Tony Sarsland in '05. That's him standing on top of the boards hoisting the trophy to the ER student section in the photo accompanying the online version of the Star-Trib article about the closing. Nothing brings more joy to a guy than seeing his kid happy. Hearing Dave Wright's wonderfully distinctive voice (and I agree that he was the voice of the Coliseum) announce his name was coo l.

The third was Hamline's MIAC tournament championship game there in 2011, Scott Bell's last year with the Pipers. That rink saw the Pipers lose a lot of games during the lean years. To host the first ever tournament championship and NCAA berth for Hamline seemed fitting. But in a twist of fate, the Coliseum pulled the ice out after that game to host a horse show. Hamline earned a host spot for the NCAA first round, but had no home ice! We had to go up to Superior to play the game in the UWS rink as the home team! I made sure we wore the home sweaters, got the last change and the two short bench changes, but decided against taking the UWS locker room as the he team! (I'm pretty sure the NCAA would have mandated it by the way the conference call was going!) Hamline beat UWS on a Saturday night, then had to travel again on Wednesday, this time to St. Norbert's. We lost a close game, and Norbert's went on to the national title.

Moral of the (long) story: The Coliseum was a venue full of great hockey history, but at the end of the day it's a horse barn!

[ZachHalverson]

I wrote a tribute piece to the coliseum on the Minnesota Hockey Magazine a few days ago. You can read it here. http://minnesotahockeymag.com/2014/01/2 ... ove-story/

[Bayside Tigers]

I wrote a tribute piece to the coliseum on the Minnesota Hockey Magazine a few days ago. You can read it here. http://minnesotahockeymag.com/2014/01/2 ... ove-story/

Good article, enjoyed the read. I noticed another intriguing comment you made in the other Coliseum thread, being "...This is all assuming there isn't some grassroots effort to "Save The Coliseum"..." The idea ignited in my own head just before I read it.

So what's to prevent it from happening? I am not a rocket scientist, or a carpenter of any kind or whatever, so I don't know all the fine print as to what "Facing decreased demand and “prohibitive” costs to replace ice-making equipment..." really means, on paper.

What are those costs? Is it a somewhat reasonable number that could be reached in an indigogo campaign? Is the decreased demand far too low to make it worth it, even if that number was reached?

Also considering they haven't moved too far ahead with "The State Fair will continue to use the coliseum year-around by expanding its schedule of retail and special events into the winter months."

Any thoughts?

[ChrisK]

I wrote a tribute piece to the coliseum on the Minnesota Hockey Magazine a few days ago. You can read it here. http://minnesotahockeymag.com/2014/01/2 ... ove-story/

Good article, enjoyed the read. I noticed another intriguing comment you made in the other Coliseum thread, being "...This is all assuming there isn't some grassroots effort to "Save The Coliseum"..." The idea ignited in my own head just before I read it.

So what's to prevent it from happening? I am not a rocket scientist, or a carpenter of any kind or whatever, so I don't know all the fine print as to what "Facing decreased demand and “prohibitive” costs to replace ice-making equipment..." really means, on paper.

What are those costs? Is it a somewhat reasonable number that could be reached in an indigogo campaign? Is the decreased demand far too low to make it worth it, even if that number was reached?

Also considering they haven't moved too far ahead with "The State Fair will continue to use the coliseum year-around by expanding its schedule of retail and special events into the winter months."

Any thoughts?

Maybe I'm being too cynical but my thought is that the State Fair thinks they can make more money without the ice so there's no financial incentive for them to keep it. If they really wanted to save the ice at the Coliseum they could have made an announcement a year or two ago saying that it was going to close unless funds were found.

One of the neighborhood papers has a good article about the closing at http://www.parkbugle.org/21311/. According to this article it would cost between $1-1.5 million to replace the equipment, plus the facility would be closed for a season.

So there would be a significant cost to keeping the ice but it does have an impact on the community and the fact that the State Fair made the announcement in December, three months before the arena will permanently close as a skating facility, tells me they have no interest in keeping the ice.

[almostashappy]

Maybe I'm being too cynical but my thought is that the State Fair thinks they can make more money without the ice so there's no financial incentive for them to keep it. If they really wanted to save the ice at the Coliseum they could have made an announcement a year or two ago saying that it was going to close unless funds were found.

One of the neighborhood papers has a good article about the closing at http://www.parkbugle.org/21311/. According to this article it would cost between $1-1.5 million to replace the equipment, plus the facility would be closed for a season.

So there would be a significant cost to keeping the ice but it does have an impact on the community and the fact that the State Fair made the announcement in December, three months before the arena will permanently close as a skating facility, tells me they have no interest in keeping the ice.

I don't think that the State Fair rep isn't being entirely honest when he says that they'd have to miss an entire year of ice hockey rentals in order to replace and upgrade the system. A few years ago, the Eagan Civic Arena only needed four months to tear up the main sheet's concrete floor and replace the old coolant lines/refrigeration unit with a new fancy-dancy high-tech geothermal system.

What they're really saying is that they'd never consider rebuilding their hockey rink infrastructure during hockey's off-season (i.e. March-September), since that would interfere with all of the horse shows/circuses/State Fair events that are scheduled during what they consider to be their peak-season.

[GopherRock]

What they're really saying is that they'd never consider rebuilding their hockey rink infrastructure during hockey's off-season (i.e. March-September), since that would interfere with all of the horse shows/circuses/State Fair events that are scheduled during what they consider to be their peak-season.

The reason for no offseason reconstruction this year is that, for the most part, the rental contracts for the 2014 season have already been signed, and it would be a very poor form to try cancelling signed contracts.

[stpaul]

It seems clear to me that the 4AA semifinals will be at Aldrich and both the the 4AA and 5AA finals will be at Marriucci. Aldrich at 3,000 capacity is not big enough for the finals, which typically draw 5,000 or more. Marriucci is not a good high school rink. The Olympic size ice sheet is too big, especially for teams not used to it. Does anybody besides Wayzata play on an Olympic sheet?

[GopherRock]

It seems clear to me that the 4AA semifinals will be at Aldrich and both the the 4AA and 5AA finals will be at Marriucci. Aldrich at 3,000 capacity is not big enough for the finals, which typically draw 5,000 or more. Marriucci is not a good high school rink. The Olympic size ice sheet is too big, especially for teams not used to it. Does anybody besides Wayzata play on an Olympic sheet?

The main arena in Elk River has the big ice, and doesn't either Eagan or Inver Grove Heights have the big sheet?

Speaking of Elk River, where will neutral-ice games in 5AA will be moving to? ER, Plymouth Ice Center, NSC, Fogarty, Roseville? The Concrete Center in St. Cloud?

[Traxler]

It seems clear to me that the 4AA semifinals will be at Aldrich and both the the 4AA and 5AA finals will be at Marriucci. Aldrich at 3,000 capacity is not big enough for the finals, which typically draw 5,000 or more. Marriucci is not a good high school rink. The Olympic size ice sheet is too big, especially for teams not used to it. Does anybody besides Wayzata play on an Olympic sheet?

The main arena in Elk River has the big ice, and doesn't either Eagan or Inver Grove Heights have the big sheet?

Speaking of Elk River, where will neutral-ice games in 5AA will be moving to? ER, Plymouth Ice Center, NSC, Fogarty, Roseville? The Concrete Center in St. Cloud?

Isn't Maple Grove's rink Olympic size as well?

[pioneers]

It seems clear to me that the 4AA semifinals will be at Aldrich and both the the 4AA and 5AA finals will be at Marriucci. Aldrich at 3,000 capacity is not big enough for the finals, which typically draw 5,000 or more. Marriucci is not a good high school rink. The Olympic size ice sheet is too big, especially for teams not used to it. Does anybody besides Wayzata play on an Olympic sheet?

+

Centennial

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I believe rink 3 @ BIG is Olympic sized. Eden Prarie also has an Olympic sheet, but it's more of a practice rink.

[PanthersIn2011]

It seems clear to me that the 4AA semifinals will be at Aldrich and both the the 4AA and 5AA finals will be at Marriucci. Aldrich at 3,000 capacity is not big enough for the finals, which typically draw 5,000 or more. Marriucci is not a good high school rink. The Olympic size ice sheet is too big, especially for teams not used to it. Does anybody besides Wayzata play on an Olympic sheet?

+

Centennial

Lakeville(s) plays on the big sheet at Ames.

Mankato has two Olympic sheets although I've never heard of either of them being used for a HS game.

[almostashappy]

The main arena in Elk River has the big ice, and doesn't either Eagan or Inver Grove Heights have the big sheet?

Eagan's main sheet narrowed to NHL dimensions when they redid the refrigeration system a few years back. Gave us enough room for a two-level dryland facility behind the benches (which was needed).