Back in 2005 a group of female hockey players’ parents thought it would be a good idea to sue the MSHSL to force the Girls State High School Hockey Tournament to change venues from Ridder Arena to the Xcel Energy Center. It was an awful idea and they won the lawsuit.
So in 2006 the Tourney moved to the Xcel for the first time. If you have ever been to the Xcel for the Boys’ Tourney you know what an electric atmosphere it is. If you have ever the to the Girls’ Tourney at the X you know that it is the exact opposite. The numbers that the Girls’ Tourney draws makes the X way too big of a venue. The atmosphere sucks.
The venue needs to be changed back to Ridder Arena where the capacity is 3,400. The house would be packed for EVERY game. Have you heard the Gopher Band in there? It is loud. The sound of the high school bands would fill the arena. The sounds of the cheering fans would fill the arena. The spectators would be right on top of the action and the participants would get to feel the excitement that this atmosphere would create. It would make for such a better experience for the athletes and spectators.
I have no idea what the finances look like for the Girls’ Tourney but I imagine that it would be a significant financial gain to move it back to Ridder.
Let’s give our girls a better State Tournament experience. How do we get this done?!
Sota Girls Hockey 