Greensboro lost to Boston in Ice Skating Event Hosting Opportunity

There’s been a lot of press about the Greensboro Coliseum’s bid for the 2014 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 5-12, 2014. Greensboro thought they had a lot of things going for it and may be one strike against it (the recent Amendment One vote). Granted, the Greensboro Coliseum proposal on the surface was probably the best one of the three submitted; but Greensboro’s application lacked the vibrant Ice Skating Community support that St. Paul, Minn. and Boston had.

Just because we have a nice facility that can make an ice surface on demand does not mean that we are the best for the sport. The Ice Skating Community is exactly that, a community – a very large one at that. Greensboro is not an Ice Skating town. Yes, the Ice House is very busy year round. Over the years, the coliseum has never been a big supporter of ice sports. Holiday on Ice and Disney on Ice don’t count towards supporting the ice skating community.

Charlotte is hosting a regional event in October 2013. Greensboro might be fortunate to get another ice skating event; but, until the coliseum becomes “ice friendly” don’t count on the ice skating community to be cheering for it.