2006 Nationals

[jkl]

There was an article in the Nashville TN paper this am (7/13) stating that Nashville was one of 6 finalists to host the 2006 US Figure Skating Championships. The other finalists were said to be Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Site evaluations will be done in September and the final decision will be made in November. :lol:

[pilgrimsoul]

Please God, just let Nationals come back to Nashville and I'll be such a good girl, really, I promise! :D

[A.H.Black]

The good part of Nashville's Nationals in 1997 was the food. By far the best arena food ever. The neighborhood rink even made us fresh tuna fish sandwiches. I know it doesn't sound special but when you've had arena food for several days..... The people were very nice and the transportation was good.

The bad part was when the organizing committee tried to charge extra for the novice events at the very last minute. The screaming of all event ticket holders made them think twice. Hopefully they would not make that same mistake again. Also the arena didn't know how to deal with the different competitions and tried to clear the arena in between. Always a bad idea.

I wouldn't mind going back to Nashville. It was the last time I saw Alizah Allen. I loved watching her skate.

[mikey]

Good luck them all, but I really think they should rotate the location as much as possible within each section. When was the last time each city hosted Nationals?

Nashville- 1997
Cleveland- 2000
Cincinnati- 1979??
Detroit- 1994
Minneapolis- 1978?? (Worlds 1998)
St. Louis- ever??

..And I agree- I really do miss Aliza Allen's musical skating! She could even make a 2-footed triple look great :P

[A.H.Black]

Minneapolis - 1991. The Target Center was brand new. Once we told a cab driver to take us to the Target Center and he took us to a Target Store. True!

[Meredith]

Cincinnati -- Worlds 1987

What happened to Indianapolis? When did they drop off the short list? Bwwwaaaahhhhh! :(

[Mel On Ice]

I know all the St. Louis area clubs are campaigning hard to get Nationals here.

Please, please, please, please!

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by Meredith
What happened to Indianapolis? When did they drop off the short list? Bwwwaaaahhhhh! :(

I believe Indianapolis was mentioned as a possible city but hasn't been confirmed to date as actually having submitted a bid.

Here's the link to the 7/13 Nashville article (http://www.tennessean.com/sports/localsports/archives/02/07/19899226.shtml?Element_ID=19899226).


Mel on Ice,
Being a former St. Louis Skating Club member, I say GO ST. LOUIS! :)

Edited to add... here's an absurdly long URL to a 7/5/02 article on St. Louis' 2006 Nationals bid (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/Sports/65629311757ED14586256BED001D2B43?OpenDocument&Head line=City%20tries%20to%20skate%20around%20rivals%2 0to%20host%20national%20meet) ... let's see if it still works.

Edited to fix the 'absurdly long URL.' To learn how to do this yourself, click on the 'BBCode' link on the left side of the posting window -- sure takes care of those ugly URLs! ~Lee

[SandraD]

Thanks for the information. Nashville is so Pretty. Haven't been there in years. Meredith .... Ohio? Not bad. Can't wait to hear the decision!

Sandra

[flippet]

Originally posted by Meredith
Cincinnati -- Worlds 1987

What happened to Indianapolis? When did they drop off the short list? Bwwwaaaahhhhh! :(


If Chicago ever even *makes* it onto the short list, I think I'll drop dead from shock. 8O :evil: If anyone ever hears a 'real' reason for why Chicago seems to be the red-haired step-child of Nationals, please post!

[Spinner]

Originally posted by Meredith
What happened to Indianapolis? When did they drop off the short list? Bwwwaaaahhhhh! :(

Let me second your WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! :cry: :cry: :cry: ...sigh...that's what I get for getting my hopes up... Oh well, all the contenders are an easy car ride for me, so I guess all is not lost. Heck, if Cincinnati wins, I probably could just drive back and forth every day--it's only 1.5 hrs away. Hmmm... ;)

Spinner

[pilgrimsoul]

Sandra and Meredith,

If Nashville does get chosen for 2006 Nationals and you decide to come, please know you are more than welcome to stay as guests in my home for the entire competition. (My house will be finished at the end of October, woooo hoooo!)

Hugs, Donna

[Meredith]

Donna,

What a sweet offer. YES!!!! Remember, when (not IF) Nationals comes to Columbus, you stay at mine, as my guest for the entire competition.

Meredith

[SandraD]

Donna,

What a sweet, nice, thoughful offer! Well, I'm on my way with Meredith and I racing to see who gets to Nashville first! :wink: The three of us had so much fun in L.A., I know we'll have even a grander time at 2006 Nationals.

Now, when Nationals comes to New Orleans (yeah right) you and Meredith will have to plan on staying a couple weeks with me. There is just so much to do and see here, you'll need extra time. :)

Sandra

[pilgrimsoul]

Sandra and Meredith,

We all love skating so much, having Nationals in each of our hometowns is the least the USFSA can do for us, right?

Okay, here's the dream schedule:

2006 Nationals - Nashville
2007 Nationals - Columbus
2008 Nationals - New Orleans

Wouldn't that be perfect? Oh, and we recently bought a digital camera (what an incredible toy!), so now we can all be shutterbugs together!

I can hear the conversation between Dick and Peggy already:

Dick: Who are those three older chicks up front taking all those pictures and waving from side to side to those young guys across the rink all the time?

Peggy: Oh them, they're cool. They're here *every* year. It's just what they do.

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!

[what?meworry?]

:D if i were a betting person, which i'm not, i'd put money on detroit. after all, it was the scene of the harding scandal which (unfortunately) did more for ice skating than sonja henie and michael kirby! besides, the home (sort of) of dsc deserves another moment of glory. and, i'd get to have another low-cost trip to nationals! :D

[blue111moon]

Originally posted by mikey
Good luck them all, but I really think they should rotate the location as much as possible within each section.

Actually, USFSA does try to rotate Nationals throughout the regions within each section. Of course, it depends on who bids, but they really do try to spread it around.

[Aaron W]

Originally posted by blue111moon
Originally posted by mikey
Good luck them all, but I really think they should rotate the location as much as possible within each section.

Actually, USFSA does try to rotate Nationals throughout the regions within each section. Of course, it depends on who bids, but they really do try to spread it around.[/b]

Which means that the Upper Great Lakes region would be the next in line (Eastern Great Lakes in 2000 & Southwestern in 2003). UGL cities are St. Louis and Minneapolis and from the article posted here, it sounds like St. Louis really has it's act together. My bet - St. Louis hosts the 2006 Nationals.

[Scott]

I wish they would add Providence to the list!

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by Scott
I wish they would add Providence to the list!

Providence last hosted US Nationals in 1995, I believe? Their next shot to make a bid will be for 2007 when Nationals rotates back to the East.

[Emilieanne]

Minneapolis had Nationals in 1991 and in 1973. Portland, Oregon had Nationals in 1978.

[blue111moon]

I have not heard that Providence is interested in bidding on another Nationals. Boston and Hartford supposedly are, plus Orlando and New York. But whether they actually come up with solid proposals (and the $$$ to back them) is anyone's guess.

[SandraD]

ORLANDO? Meredith and Donna did you see that! OMG......if Nationals is held there, let's plan on a three week trip! We'd need a week for Nationals, one and a half for Walt Disney World, and the rest of the time for Universal Studios plus Sea World.

Heading off to book my flight. :wink:

Sandra

[Mazurka Girl]

I vote for Cincinnati 8)

[Scott]

If not Providence I say Boston for sure in 2007. They did a great job last time and the crowds were fantastic. Great City too!

[KathiMac]

Hope it's in Nashville.

[pilgrimsoul]

Sandra, Orlando *would* be fun, but man oh man, I would be soooooo broke afterward! :lol:

[Mel On Ice]

SandraD and Meredith, and all interested, I'd host a forum barbeque! I'd offer to put you up, but my Michigan connection is already RSVPing for the spare rooms in anticipation.

C'mon St. Louis!

[duane]

Originally posted by what?meworry
:D if i were a betting person, which i'm not, i'd put money on detroit.

i hope you're right!!

2002 Nationals was held right down the street from me. i didnt have to worry about plane tickets, hotel rooms, etc.

if 2006 is held in detroit (my hometown, where i visit at least 3 times a year), it would again be in my "home turf"! and, after the events we could all jump on the rail and ride over to the MGM Grand, or the new casino in Greektown (which i havent visited yet)! :D who knows--we'd probably run into some of the skaters (those who like to gamble!).

[Mel On Ice]

Greektown! Ohboy, Detroit would be my second choice. The food there is fantastic, especially the pastry shops. Duane, what's your favorite place to go? Opa!

The only thing I think could possibly thwart those plans is the Super Bowl -- the new Ford Field is the tenative site and I wonder if motown wants two big events possibly within a week of each other.

Being a Michigan girl myself, I'd be in 7th heaven:
Nationals
Superbowl
Food in Greektown
Tigers Fanfest around that same time

[duane]

Originally posted by Mel On Ice
Greektown! The food there is fantastic, especially the pastry shops. Duane, what's your favorite place to go?

it's been a while, but Fishbone was always THE place to go. however, next time i go to Greektown, i'll probably be spending most of my time at the blackjack tables! :D

[kara]

ITA with Aaron. I definitely think they'll go with St. Louis.

[sk8rzmom]

Minneapolia has an incredibly strong volunteer organization that is comprised of the efforts of the zillions of skating clubs in the Twin Cities metro area. They did a terrific Nationals in 91 and also Worlds in 98. A wonderful skyway system that eliminates almost all outdoor travel in the midst of winter makes it a very nice location, and their proven track record should speak well for them.

[scooter133]

Supposedly, a finalist list will be announced at the end of the month. So, the list of 6 could be reduced to 3 or 4. We'll just have to see.

[jkl]

Anybody from these 6 clubs know anything yet? I will ask around to see where Nashville's bid is on the list---if anyone knows. I get the feeling that money/financing will be a big part of the winning bid.

[blue111moon]

Members of the committee will be conducting site visits during the months of August. I would not expect to hear anything until after that.

Finances are part of the package but there's more involved than that. The USFSA site has a document that lists all the requirements for putting in a bid for the various competitions from International to Regional. Then it comes down to comparing what each bid has to offer in comparison to the others.

[jkl]

The USFSA website now has an article on the 2006 Nationals up. It looks like we will see the sites visited in September with the winner announced in November. Does anyone think that the prominent picture of the St.Louis Arena above the article is a clue to the outcome?

[NiceIce]

Definately CINCINNATI I hope.
That city has alot to offer, right on the river, close to INDY, Columbus, and not too far from Detroit, Clevleand, and Chicago, and Nashville.

[kara]

How long after a location is chosen do tickets usually go on sale? Thanks.

[Spinner]

Tickets for 2005 nationals went on sale in early spring this year, if that gives you any indication (approximately 3 years). I'm not sure though, if it's a set time frame or different for each year.

Spinner

[kara]

Thank you!

[JessicaLynn]

DETROIT!!! Otherwise I will probably never have the chance to go to Nationals.

[NiceIce]

Cincinnati!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
defiantely da Nati!

[Mel On Ice]

the list is now down to Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and........ ST. LOUIS! Even the morning radio show guys are excited!

[Mazurka Girl]

**Cincinnati**Cincinnati**Cincinnati

Out of those cities, Cincinnati & St Louis are the ones that have not had an event for quite awhile. It's their turn. I'm from a family of Buckeyes so I have to throw my support in with them.

Look NiceIce, we agree on something! :D

[justsk8]

After being at a Nationals, there is simply no way any club in the Cincinnati are can pull off a National. The volunteer base is not there. And there is not a rink that can handle the senior events. I would love for it to be there, but all the things that have to be there, are not there.
The US Bank Arena can not handle a US Nationals.

St Louis or Detroit would be much better..

[Scott]

In order for Cincy to be on the list they must have made some promises about what they could deliver. My guess is that Minneapolis will win out.

[justsk8]

I hope they do get it, but not at the expense of the Nationals.

[Spinner]

Originally posted by justsk8
And there is not a rink that can handle the senior events. I would love for it to be there, but all the things that have to be there, are not there.
The US Bank Arena can not handle a US Nationals.

St Louis or Detroit would be much better..

Especially since this is an Olympic year...bigger crowds. If it can't be Indianapolis (....sigh....) then I vote for St. Louis.

Spinner

[jkl]

There was an article in this mornings Nashville TN newspaper saying that Nashville had been eliminated from consideration for the 2006 Nationals. The reason stated " the city was unable to generate a letter of credit promising a guaranteed bid fee of $300,000 to the USFSA". I don't know what blew Detroit's chances. Now I must sit and try to figure out when Midwesterns will get a chance to host Nationals in an Olympic year again.:cry: