USHL Fall Classic set
Published on March 21, 2007 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
GRAND FORKS, ND: The United States Hockey League has announced the dates for its 2007 pre-season tournament. In a change of direction, the event will have a new name - the USHL Fall Classic - and will be held in Sioux City, Iowa. For the past 17 years the tournament was known as the Buc Bowl and was held in Des Moines, Iowa.
"This is an exciting time for the USHL as a whole, as we continue to see our pre-season tournament evolve into a great event for players, fans and scouts," USHL president Gino Gasparini said. "The USHL is thrilled that Sioux City has come forth and requested to host the event as we try to make it even bigger and better than ever. The Des Moines Buccaneers organization over the years has done a great job of growing the tournament and now the rest of the league is going to take turns in making it even bigger."
The Fall Classic will be held September 27-29, 2007. Sioux City, like Des Moines in the past, will utilize two ice surfaces - the Tyson Events Center (home ice of the Musketeers) and the IBP Ice Center, the city's primary youth hockey facility. In addition to hockey, event planners are looking to hold a hockey trade show as well as host other attractions for visitors, including a live concert at the facility on Friday, September 28.
"This is an extremely large undertaking for the Musketeers organization as we expect to host well over 1,000 visitors per-day from outside the Sioux City area," said Musketeers president Jim Kronschnabel. "We expect to fill virtually every hotel room in Sioux City. The Fall Classic, along with our annual tryout camp and the new futures camp will have a huge economic impact on the city this summer and fall."
The USHL Board of Governors recently approved the change in name and venue for the event.
"We had a number of teams in the league that wanted to host events in the pre-season. Rather than have too many and burden teams to play in more than one, the Board decided it was in the best interests of the league to open the event up to everyone and allow it to change venues every couple of years," Gasparini said. "It's a lot of work for a particular market, when you consider the volume of people coming into a particular city and the number of games played in the facilities, but it is a chance for one of our organizations to showcase itself and we want everyone to have that opportunity. Not all teams will want to host, but we have many that do and they deserve that chance."
The Fall Classic takes the USHL back to its pre-season roots. Under the guidance of then Sioux City head coach Bob Ferguson, a tournament was established at venerable Sioux City Municipal Auditorium and was known as the Corn Bowl. When Ferguson left Sioux City for Des Moines in 1990, the tournament followed and became the Buc Bowl.
"This event is extremely important for us from a league standpoint and a scouting standpoint," Gasparini said. "It's important for us to have all of our teams in one place and accessible for everyone. Like I said, Des Moines has done a great job with it and we are excited to see Sioux City take it and raise the bar even higher."
If computer hardware and broadcasting logistics can be accommodated, all games in the tournament will be carried live on B2 Networks. For people who purchase the season pass, the event will be free of charge. All others can view the games for the usual $6 per game. In addition, real-time scoring can be followed through the USHL's statistical provider, Pointstreak.
For more information on the 2007 USHL Fall Classic, including ticketing and lodging information, please stay tuned to www.ushl.com and www.musketeershockey.com over the coming months.
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