It was announced Thursday that Michigan would play their fourth outdoor hockey game when they take on rival Ohio State on January 15th from Progressive Field in Cleveland.
The game, which will be called “The Frozen Diamond Faceoff” will serve as a showcase for the annual two-month-long Snow Days festival in Cleveland.
Now before people start to jump to conclusions thinking that I don’t want the two to face each other in an outdoor game hear me out.
I DO want Michigan and Ohio State to play each other, I DO want them to play an outdoor game against each other. These are two marquee teams that can draw fans from their massive fan bases not just from the region but from across the United States.
My problem is with the venue.
Progressive Field… really? What kind of special significance does Progressive Field play besides it being outdoors and in Ohio? Why not have it at The Shoe or The Big House again for that matter?
The capacity of Progressive Field is 43,545 yet officials for the “Snow Days” event have come out and said that not all seats will be able to be used because of how the rink will be configured for the event. Ohio Stadium holds 102,329 while Michigan Stadium broke hockey attendance records with 104,173.
If Michigan Stadium and Ohio Stadium are both booked or unavailable for the game then the CCHA and NCAA would’ve been better suited to delay the game.
It’s lame venues like Progressive Field that’s beginning to turn the outdoor hockey game into a huge snooze fest.
Source: AnnArbor.com
