Buffalo seeks top amateur hockey tourney
Source: Bizjournals.com (Original Article)
An effort to land one of amateur hockey's most prestigious tournaments has received a boost from New York state's U.S. senators.
Both Sen. Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton have written letters of support on Buffalo's behalf as the city attempts to secure the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation's "World Under 20 Championships." The nearly two-week long event, held annually in late December and early january, brings together some of the world's top amateur-level men's ice hockey players, many of whom have either been drafted by National Hockey League teams.
Buffalo's bid is being put together by the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Buffalo Sabres. Neither organization would comment on the bid.
Bids are due to USA Hockey, which select the host city, by early August.
The economic impact is expected to top, by several million dollars, the $7.4 million generated locally when HSBC Arena has hosted NCAA regional men's basketball playoffs.
The last time the IIHF Under 20s was held in the U.S. was 2005 when it was run from Grand Forks, N.D., and Thief River Falls, Minn. It has also been held in Boston, Anchorage and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
The tournament started in 1977. Ottawa will host the 2009 competition and Canada will also host the 2010 event after Switzerland withdrew its bid. Canada is also bidding for the 2012 tournament.
Both Schumer and Clinton cited Buffalo's long love and support of hockey from amateur levels through the NHL as one of the primary reasons the city should be selected. They also mentioned that Canada is Buffalo's geographic neighbor.
"Buffalo is a city of fans that live, eat and breathe hockey, and with another huge fan base just across the border in Canada, I can think of no better city to host the 2011 Under 20 World Championships," Clinton wrote in HI5 dvd a letter to David Ogrean, executive …continue reading