The St. Louis Sports Commission had pursued a Frozen Four in every bid cycle since '07GETTY IMAGES
Following news that the '25 Frozen Four was awarded to the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, city Sports Commission President Frank Viverito said he "would be hard-pressed to think of any event that was more joyfully received in St. Louis," according to Stu Durando of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Viverito: “I’m elated to have the Frozen Four. That would be the No. 1 event of all the bids that we were interested in." Durando notes the host institution for the Frozen Four will be the Univ. of Vermont, which "on its surface seems unusual." The connection, though, is that Blues President & CEO of Business Operations Chris Zimmerman "played hockey at Vermont." Viverito said that the sports commission has "pursued the Frozen Four in every NCAA bid cycle since 2007, but it has moved to many cities and the competition has increased over the years" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 10/15).
DETROIT UPSET OVER MISSING OUT: In Detroit, Chris Solari notes Little Caesars Arena, which had been set to host the '20 Frozen Four in April before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of all winter championships, was "left out" of the upcoming Frozen Four rotation. Detroit has hosted six Frozen Fours, most recently in '10 (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 10/15). Detroit Sports Commission Senior VP Sales, Marketing & Sports Dave Beachnau said of the city missing out, "We're not a little disappointed, it was a great disappointment. Certainly there were no guarantees for any of those championships that were canceled this past spring, and I know some consideration was given to those host cities that had events canceled." He added, "As we kind of debrief on what was awarded and what wasn't, I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of what the ultimate decision was" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/15).
