2021 U.S. Nationals will return to San Jose, Calif.; 2022 U.S. Nationals will be in Nashville, TN (Toyota is title sponsor for both)

AngieNikodinovLove

Frangi & Piazza & Paul & Hektor & Theo. Oh My! 😝
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Why is USFS allergic to the east coast?

LOLLL, for reals? For a looooonggggg time I didnt think USFSA decision makers had ever taken geography courses because everything under the stars and moon was on east coast.....

Thank Goodness they hired someone flinally with that knew there was land east of PA!

CA is the most populous state and home to what seems 75% of figure skaters. Keep em coming out west.

tee hee
 

Debbie S

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Vegas, San Jose, Spokane, SLC are hardly "close" together. It's a solid day of driving between any of those four locations. Irvine is, of course, not as far of a drive to either Vegas or SJ but it's still a good 5-6 hours minimum. Boston, Detroit, Greensboro, Lake Placid, and Nashville are all "back east" and a royal pain to get to from many places "out west."
I don't think Detroit or Nashville is considered "east". ;) And I never said that Vegas and San Jose were close, what I said is that they are in the same region of the country. The east coast cities you mentioned aren't close to each other, either. Boston is a 7-hour drive for me, which is why I've flown there for skating comps. A 1-hour, nonstop flight that was much cheaper than the 5-6 hour nonstops (if you're lucky to get one) or 8+-hour trips with connection time, to San Jose. As I said, it would be nice to spread events around each season. This year, for ex, we had the U.S. Classic in SLC, SA in Vegas, and Nats in Greensboro.
 

sk9tingfan

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I don't think Detroit or Nashville is considered "east". ;) And I never said that Vegas and San Jose were close, what I said is that they are in the same region of the country. The east coast cities you mentioned aren't close to each other, either. Boston is a 7-hour drive for me, which is why I've flown there for skating comps. A 1-hour, nonstop flight that was much cheaper than the 5-6 hour nonstops (if you're lucky to get one) or 8+-hour trips with connection time, to San Jose. As I said, it would be nice to spread events around each season. This year, for ex, we had the U.S. Classic in SLC, SA in Vegas, and Nats in Greensboro.

ITA. Nothing has come to the Northeast in terms of Nationals since 2014(Boston). Only SA and JGP have gone to Lake Placid which in no way could be appropriate for a national competition. Not sure which Northeast cities could accommodate the requirements for one on a price competitive basis but some could be Providence or Albany. Went to the Aurora Games in Albany this summer and thought the arena was adequate but did not look into hotels as it is only a 2.5 hour drive from my home. Providence would be equidistant or even closer. Hartford and the XCEL center, IMO, is not acceptable although it is a 15 minute drive for me.
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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In addition to the hotel and flight costs, the ticket prices for SJ were quite a bit more than other recent Nats cities. I hope they pull back a little on the pricing this time but i'm sure they won't.
I don't think they can. It's a high COL area so everything they have to buy or rent to put on the event is going to cost more.

Rumor is SA is returning to Vegas next year
Another rumor is that it will come back to Vegas but not next year, maybe the year after.

The skating community there has gotten pretty big, and there have been articles in Skating Magazine about its growth, so it's not lost on USFS.
As you know, USFS asks for bids from local clubs. If the clubs in Florida don't bid, USFS can't award them a contract. I'm not saying USFS might not encourage a place to put in a bid. But if an area doesn't want to bid, there is nothing USFS can do about it. We shouldn't assume certain areas aren't getting events because USFS doesn't want to put events there. Most of the time it's because that area doesn't want to put on an event. They see the work and don't think the reward is worth it.
 

Debbie S

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In the case of Nats (and SA,) it's not really clubs that are bidding these days, it's either local gov't/tourism agencies or sports marketing agencies working in conjunction with local gov't. SC of Boston has been the exception, but other than that, for the past 10 years or so (maybe more), clubs haven't been the organizers.

Of course, if a USFS official or someone else active in the skating community would like to bring an event to their city, they can recruit an agency/bidder (I believe that's what happened with Nashville/Scott Hamilton) so there probably does need to be a push from someone to get the bid rolling.
 

Carolla5501

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Since Scott Hamilton was involved in the bid and quoted in the press release, I assume his rink will be used as the practice facility.

I think that's what I find annoying - if they're going to have Nats out west, OK, but spread events around. Rumor is SA is returning to Vegas next year and there was also a rumor posted here that the U.S. Classic is moving to Irvine. At least have one event in the east (and I don't mean Lake Placid) or midwest.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a big event in Florida. The skating community there has gotten pretty big, and there have been articles in Skating Magazine about its growth, so it's not lost on USFS. (And for fans in almost any part of the country, a trip to FL in January would be much appreciated. :) )

The truth is there a limited number of people willing to deal with the demands of US figure skating. The reason is probably not where you want it is nobody in your preferred location wants to deal with them
 

MacMadame

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clubs haven't been the organizers.
They get a corporate entity to be the frontmen but there are clubs behind them somewhere whether you see them or not. Without local clubs, it's very hard to get good volunteers, for example. The last time Nats were in SJ, several of the local clubs were very active behind the scenes.

But regardless of the details, the point stands: someone has to be willing to bid and not a lot of people are willing for various reasons.
 

Karen-W

Checking Senior Bs for TES mins...
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I don't think Detroit or Nashville is considered "east". ;) And I never said that Vegas and San Jose were close, what I said is that they are in the same region of the country. The east coast cities you mentioned aren't close to each other, either. Boston is a 7-hour drive for me, which is why I've flown there for skating comps. A 1-hour, nonstop flight that was much cheaper than the 5-6 hour nonstops (if you're lucky to get one) or 8+-hour trips with connection time, to San Jose. As I said, it would be nice to spread events around each season. This year, for ex, we had the U.S. Classic in SLC, SA in Vegas, and Nats in Greensboro.
Well, my point is that "out west" is just as broad of a geographic designation as "back east" and to anyone who lives west of the Rockies, Detroit and Nashville might as well be "east" the same way you seem to believe that SLC or San Jose are "out west". And we have the same issues with traveling to many cities east of the Rockies with no direct connections. The fact is, the US is a huge country and there is no way to spread the wealth of events fairly in a way that will be convenient for all the fans from all regions of the country every year.
 

crzesk8dad

Where am I? How do I get off? Do I get ice cream?
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In the case of Nats (and SA,) it's not really clubs that are bidding these days, it's either local gov't/tourism agencies or sports marketing agencies working in conjunction with local gov't. SC of Boston has been the exception, but other than that, for the past 10 years or so (maybe more), clubs haven't been the organizers.

Of course, if a USFS official or someone else active in the skating community would like to bring an event to their city, they can recruit an agency/bidder (I believe that's what happened with Nashville/Scott Hamilton) so there probably does need to be a push from someone to get the bid rolling.
You are so correct, Debbie. I can tell you from personal experience, the local government/sports agency/convention and visitors bureau will use the club for knowledge of the event and later for volunteers, but otherwise, it's a relationship between them and US Figure Skating. Nationals is very expensive to put on, mainly due to arena and hotel costs, for a club it's just too overwhelming, with a few exceptions (SC Boston, possibly All Year).
 

acraven

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I'm betting Nationals week. Please let it not be during an actual competitive event. That has happened more than once as I recall. As an All-Event Ticket purchaser, I find that sort of scheduling infuriating. It's bad enough when you have to skip a practice session to place an order for a future Nationals.
 

Carolla5501

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7,132
I'm betting Nationals week. Please let it not be during an actual competitive event. That has happened more than once as I recall. As an All-Event Ticket purchaser, I find that sort of scheduling infuriating. It's bad enough when you have to skip a practice session to place an order for a future Nationals.

I’m betting they won’t be ready by Nationals. San Jose was rather disorganized as i reca last time. They were also rather unrealistic. They announced to me that there would be no weekend or single ticket sales because they knew they would sell every seat as an all event. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to laugh at those girls Who honestly assumed that since they had sold out for a gymnastics event that they were going to do the same for entire week of nationals. Didn’t work out that way for then
 

TanithandBenFan

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I got a call from the SAP Center since I was on the mailing list, and Kyle said the presale starts next Monday. A code will be sent out on Monday.
 

TanithandBenFan

Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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I called and got some information about the pricing for 2021:

  • first row will be $1300
  • middle sections will be $821 for rows 6 and up
  • corner sections will be $650 for rows 11 and up; lower rows of the corner are $821
  • end sections will be $650 except higher rows will be $500 (I think he said 500)

There will likely be a three-installment plan available with 50% due up front. They will selling weekend packages later.

You can call the Group Sales office at the SAP Center if you want to ask any questions.

As usual, the prices in SJ are utterly ridiculous. I paid $555 for a middle section in Greensboro.
 

Carolla5501

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Yeah I think this is a no go for me. And unfortunately I’m not going to. be able to skate America next year either. Maybe the year without any skating, be the first one in a while

It’s possible I could go to the weekend only in San Jose but it’s a long flight and probably just not going to work out
 

MacMadame

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The price of everything is crazy here. :D

I have learned over the years that, if you want to see the whole ice surface, you need to be in at least row 6 so $821 for a whole week of skating works for me. Of course, as a local, I won't need airfare or a hotel or rental car so that helps.
 

TanithandBenFan

Author of the Ice and Edge Series
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I just accessed the tickets via presale and the prices are a little different from what I was told. These are the prices with the exh included:

The first five rows all around the arena are 1271.

Rows 6-11 all around the arena are 821.

Rows 12 and up are 596.

There are no additional fees. It appears all tickets may be mobile.

Without the exhibition prices:

Rows 6-11 are 732

Rows 12 and up are 527
 

acraven

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2,599
I signed up for emails from San Jose but did not receive the presale code or a link to buy tickets. I'm at the arena in Greensboro without WiFi, so life is difficult. Can someone provide the code and a link?

Many thanks.
 

MacMadame

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I didn't get an email either. How do you sign up for the pre-sale? Or can someone just post the code (assuming it's generic and not per-person)
 

Carolla5501

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MacMadame

Doing all the things
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Oh, I thought it was for people who went last time. I should probably call them anyway. I think I may have opted out of their marketing emails at some point
 

maureenfarone

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I just received an email from San Jose announcing a presale starting at 10:00 a.m. PT on 1/21/2020 ending at 10:00 p.m. PT on 1/22/2020. Code is 2018CHAMPS @ MacMadame and anyone else interested.

There is a "click here" that takes me to the SAP Account Center. Guess you have to have the account center set up for the process to work.
 

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