Push Begins to Sell Out Pond for ’99 NCAA Hockey Finals

Seeking to do more and do better than previous attempts to sell college hockey locally, organizers of the 1999 NCAA Division I tournament finals began to sell tickets today, a full 15 months before the event.

The Los Angeles Sports Council and University of Alaska Anchorage, co-organizers of the event at the Pond, expect to use this time to draw more fans to the game than did promoters of previous college hockey tournaments in the Southland.

The key issue is from where the fans will come. “In the month of March [and April], where would you like to be?” said David Simon, president of the L.A. Sports Council. “We expect a sellout at the Pond. College hockey fans travel to this event each year, regardless of the location.”

This year’s finals, April 2 and 4 at the 17,565-seat FleetCenter in Boston, already is sold out.

But the sales pitch here is location, location, location.

Simon sees this area as the perfect place to turn the finals--two semifinal games on April 1 and the final on April 3--into a three-day event with an atmosphere similar to that of a major college bowl game.

Because all Division I programs are in colder climates, the pitch of sun, fun and hockey seems to make sense on a national level.

And at the national level, organizers expect to draw 12,000 fans to the Pond. That leaves roughly 5,256 seats left for local fans.

The tickets, available in a three-session package, are $90 and $75 and can be purchased only through the mail.

That local allotment might seem small, but consider the collection of fans at the last major college hockey event in the Southland.

The Great Western Freeze-Out died after the 1995 version, a two-day event that used both the Forum and the Pond. Featuring such well-known programs as Boston College, Maine, Miami of Ohio and Michigan State, the event drew fewer than 3,000 at the Pond.

Crowds for previous Freeze-Outs, all played in the fall at the Forum in the early 1990s, were equally as exclusive.

Overcoming that is the challenge that faces Tim Dillon, Alaska Anchorage vice chancellor and athletic director, who is ready to sell the college game in an area that has taken to the Mighty Ducks, Kings and Ice Dogs.

“We’ve got a variety of ideas on how we are going to market this,” Dillon said.

Alaska Anchorage, which is more than 3,000 miles away, has been aggressive from the outset, seeking to host the event, then to secure an alternate site after the NCAA said the Seawolves’ home facility, Sullivan Arena, was too small at 6,206 seats.

From there, the university sought and found a partner to bring the event here.

“We were approached by Alaska Anchorage and not the other way around,” Simon said. “There is no facility of this size in the entire state of Alaska.”

For ticket information, call (714) 704-2500.