Changing team's venue nothing new

Teams look at financial gain

By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Minnesota State University's decision to move a home hockey game against Minnesota to the Twin Cities is not unprecedented.

In 1993, St. Cloud State "hosted" the Gophers at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The teams played to a 2-2 tie.

Like MSU this week, St. Cloud State took a local public relations hit with the move. But, according to Director of Athletics Morris Kurtz, the event was ultimately considered a success.

Not only did St. Cloud State make money on the venture, Kurtz said, but it brought additional exposure to a growing program, especially to the school's alumni.

Minnesota State officials have cited the 20,000 Twin Cities alumni as a target for ticket sales to the Jan. 14 men's hockey game at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.

"It's not a neutral site," Kurtz said in a phone interview Tuesday. "It will be primarily Gophers fans there. But we wanted to reach out to alumni in the Twin Cities. Obviously, (MSU) is following the same path."

Minnesota State is hoping to bring in more than $100,000 in revenue with the event, as well. Kurtz said St. Cloud State reaped rewards with the one-time event.

"It served every purpose," he said. "Those game revenues were badly needed by the athletic department."

MSU Director of Athletics Kevin Buisman said other college sports teams have made similar decisions in recent years.

One is Michigan Tech, a Western Collegiate Hockey Association member, along with MSU and St. Cloud State.

Two seasons ago, Michigan Tech moved one game of a home hockey series against Wisconsin south 200 miles to the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. The game drew 8,744 fans, more than twice the capacity of Tech's own MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Mich.

The Huskies will play in Green Bay again this season, hosting Notre Dame in a nonconference game on Jan. 18.

This fall, Michigan Tech played Grand Valley State in football at Michigan Stadium, better known as "The Big House," at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The game between the Nos. 4- and 17-ranked Division II football teams drew 50,123, the second largest crowd to witness a D-II football game.

Buisman said college athletic departments can't afford to ignore those kinds of opportunities.

"Programs, more and more, have to run things like a big business," Buisman said. "And they have to find areas for financial gain."