aftershocks
Banned Member
- Messages
- 17,317
Lebron signing with the Lakers may be a distraction for the town's sports lovers and the economy, but it should have absolutely nothing to do with skating leaders in the city of Cleveland making a bid for another U.S. Nationals. Cleveland previously hosted in 2000 and in 2009. Prior to those years, Cleveland hosted for the first time in 1964. So only three times to date. I thought it had been more often than that, but no. It looks like Colorado Springs wins the award for the most times hosting U.S. Nationals, starting from the early days of the championships (they hosted 6 times, 4 straight in the 1940s and early 1950s). Possibly, Colorado Springs hasn't hosted again since 1976, partly due to the high altitude, although other ISU events have been held there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Figure_Skating_Championships
One of the drawbacks for Cleveland could be that the supplementary rink is in Lakewood, OH, about 15 to 20 min away from downtown, and shuttle buses are needed. I'll never forget sharing a shuttle bus in 2000 with a young judge who was a former skater, and with Peter Oppegard and Karen Kwan (who were dating at the time), and with Tiffany & Johnnie Stiegler and their mother, among others. Traveling back and forth from Lakewood might not be the best draw for skating fans. However, Cleveland does have a lot of additional hotel space and other amenitites that won them the Republican convention in 2016. Now, if perhaps skating officials in the area could get another rink built closer to the downtown area. That would be great. It could be collaborated on with Cleveland State University.
