2026 U.S. Nationals - St. Louis!

[Aceon6]

And it’s not even the Olympic year as the US team will be chosen at next years’s nationals. I don’t understand the schedule at all. I’m just happy to have already decided on Euros and not US Nats next year. There’s far less chance of getting yanked around in Sheffield.

Whoops, I didn’t realize I was in the 2026 thread.

 

[Sylvia]

And it’s not even the Olympic year as the US team will be chosen at next years’s nationals.

This is the "next year's Nationals" (2026) thread.

Thanks @skipaway for the early heads up yesterday:

Just received this email: See prices below The exclusive Friends of Figure Skating presale for all-session tickets to the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships opens Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 10 a.m. CT. Currently slated for Jan. 5-11 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, the U.S. Championships will serve as the final qualifying event prior to the selection of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team that will represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano-Cortina 2026. When the ticket window opens at 10 a.m., you will receive an email with a link to the ticket site and a code to access the presale. This code will be active for 48 hours. The schedule is still being finalized, but all-session tickets include access to all championship, junior and novice events, and one TBA special event on Sunday, Jan. 11. Also included is admission to all championship-level practices, which begin Tuesday, Jan. 6. Championship-level events will run Wednesday, Jan. 7, through Saturday, Jan. 10. Please be aware, P1 tickets will now be separated into P1A and P1B. P1A includes all front row seats, and P1B is rows 2-4 near the ice. We will provide an approximate seating map on Tuesday morning, but for reference, the officials stand will be in section 103, and the kiss and cry will be near sections 122 and 123. All-session ticket prices are as follows (includes taxes and fees): P1A Level Seats: $1,650 P1B Level Seats: $985 P2 Level Seats: $625 P3 Level Seats: $345

Hotels Those who purchase all-session tickets will also have exclusive access to U.S. Figure Skating's hotel block. Information will be sent out at a later date.

 

[peibeck]

St Louis will provide blocks of provel cheese.

They did that at a French Grand Prix (not provel, but cheese), I think. St. Louis is unlikely to be as voidy as the French, despite their historic heritage.

 

[Karen-W]

They did that at a French Grand Prix (not provel, but cheese), I think. St. Louis is unlikely to be as voidy as the French, despite their historic heritage.

I thought it was at the GP Italy hosted a few years ago where they gave away the blocks of cheese...

 

[Iceblink]

The Drury Union Station is already open for booking through January 11 if you're like me and insist on having a reservation before you commit to buying Nationals tickets...

 

[peibeck]

I thought it was at the GP Italy hosted a few years ago where they gave away the blocks of cheese...

Maybe that's was it. Was it rounds of parmesan? (Which as pricy as real parm is, would be a good bonus... not that most skaters probably eat much cheese or pasta!) My brain thought maybe it was Italy, but I couldn't remember anything but a final there, but Wiki tells me 2021 they hosted instead of China.

 

[Karen-W]

Maybe that's was it. Was it rounds of parmesan? (Which as pricy as real parm is, would be a good bonus... not that most skaters probably eat much cheese or pasta!) My brain thought maybe it was Italy, but I couldn't remember anything but a final there, but Wiki tells me 2021 they hosted instead of China.

Yup, they were rounds of parmesan. I'm pretty sure at the time someone else mentioned that Italy did the same thing when they hosted the GPF previously. Shall we bet that all the athletes in Milano-Cortina are getting blocks of parm as part of their Olympic swag, lol.

 

[Spikefan]

Yeah, that earlier European cheese event made me think STL could do the same. Pro tip for the Olympic Team: dump the provel in a bin and hold out for the Italian cheese. If you’re going to cheat, do it properly.

 

[Karen-W]

Yeah, that earlier European cheese event made me think STL could do the same. Pro tip for the Olympic Team: dump the provel in a bin and hold out for the Italian cheese. If you’re going to cheat, do it properly.

I mean, what's the other option from St Louis? A case of Budweiser? Or Bud Light for the skaters who identify as LGBTQ+? I honestly have no idea what St Louis is famous for apart from the Gateway Arch and Anheuser-Busch. And what would you do for the under-age skaters?

 

[HeatherC]

St. Louis could give the US Olympic team some sort of beer basket with some Clydesdale stuffies in there as decoration, LOL

 

[Spikefan]

St. Louis could give the US Olympic team some sort of beer basket with some Clydesdale stuffies in there as decoration, LOL

Basket with Gateway Arch handle.

 

[YukiNieve]

For those of you who are familiar with St. Louis - are there any areas we may avoid staying?

 

[Spikefan]

For those of you who are familiar with St. Louis - are there any areas we may avoid staying?

Avoid East STL (over the river). Anywhere in the main downtown area will be fine other than typical US city crime. There are nice pockets where I have stayed for concerts but not convenient to the arena. Fox Theater area is nice as is Sheldon Concert Hall area. I’ve always had a car so no tips on the mass transit.

 

[peibeck]

Yup, they were rounds of parmesan. I'm pretty sure at the time someone else mentioned that Italy did the same thing when they hosted the GPF previously. Shall we bet that all the athletes in Milano-Cortina are getting blocks of parm as part of their Olympic swag, lol.

That would be a LOT of parmesan, if they did that for the all Olympic medalists. Each hockey team is 11 members alone. Plus all the other sports!

Yeah, that earlier European cheese event made me think STL could do the same. Pro tip for the Olympic Team: dump the provel in a bin and hold out for the Italian cheese. If you’re going to cheat, do it properly.

But it melts so well... and then sticks to your teeth!
(Actually I find it great shredded and adding spices, veggies, and chicken in a quesadilla.)

If you'd go the food route a pint of Ted Drewe's frozen custard would be my vote!

St Louis Arch commemorative pins would probably be the route to go, however.

@YukiNieve if you stay downtown, don't wander north of Washington Avenue on foot. Same if you drive and decide to stay near where @Spikefan mentioned in midtown near the Fox/Sheldon Hall/St Louis University. North of Powell Hall on Grand isn't anywhere to sightsee.

The Central West End near Forest Park would be another option area for people not wanting to stay downtown where there are a plethora of dining options, some shopping, and it's walkable and a lower crime area. I know MetroLink stops near the hospitals there on South Euclid and there is Hilton brand hotel (I think Doubletree) pretty close by.

 

[peibeck]

Sorry to double post but ALERT: the MetroLink near the Convention Center is CLOSED until at least mid January 2026 per MetroLink's website. There are quite a few hotels in that area, so when booking a hotel, maybe call if you will be relying on public transport to see where other options may be.

 

[Debbie S]

Sorry to double post but ALERT: the MetroLink near the Convention Center is CLOSED until at least mid January 2026 per MetroLink's website. There are quite a few hotels in that area, so when booking a hotel, maybe call if you will be relying on public transport to see where other options may be.

Sounds like a great time for the city to be hosting large events.

What are the closest stops that have hotels near them? Or are there no other stops in the downtown area?

 

[Sylvia]

Enterprise Center is marked on this Metro Transit map (MetroLink is the light rail system): https://www.metrostlouis.org/sports/

 

[Gayo]

The Drury Union Station is already open for booking through January 11 if you're like me and insist on having a reservation before you commit to buying Nationals tickets...

I booked it too and it’s an 11 minute walk to the arena. Will see what hotels come up on the USFS list when announced but I like having a backup.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Sounds like a great time for the city to be hosting large events.

What are the closest stops that have hotels near them? Or are there no other stops in the downtown area?

There's a stop two minutes from the Westin.

 

[peibeck]

Sounds like a great time for the city to be hosting large events.

What are the closest stops that have hotels near them? Or are there no other stops in the downtown area?

When it's not cold and snowy outside in the spring, I will try and do a day trip to downtown STL, check out where the recommended hotels are and give info on where public transport is closest and other amenities/restaurants are nearby. Although I go to STL frequently, it's not usually to the downtown and arena neighborhood.

 

[SidelineSkater]

Other STL foods. Toasted ravioli, hot salami sandwiches, and gooey butter cake. The latter is a super sweet dessert. Think lemon square texture minus the lemon flavor.

Gooey Butter Cake

parkavenuecoffee.com

 

[Spikefan]

Toasted ravioli was invented for those that don’t know how to make pasta. It’s a good thing I don’t live in STL the way I dog on their food.

 

[peibeck]

Toasted ravioli was invented for those that don’t know how to make pasta. It’s a good thing I don’t live in STL the way I dog on their food.

Actually St. Louis has amazing Italian food, especially in The Hill neighborhood. Toasted ravioli were created as a late night bar food, to help drunks sober up, somehow caught on, and became a staple on local appetizer menus.

Downtown St Louis offers at least one excellent Italian restaurant called Lombardi's Trattoria, and a short Uber/Lyft ride would get one to the chic Lafayette Square neighborhood where Eleven Eleven Mississippi offers amazing Italian dishes and a recent (opened in 2023) addition called Vicini Pasteria that is TINY (counter service only) yet AMAZING. All hand rolled pasta (they even teach pasta making classes), but sadly only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday for lunch (although they begin service at 11:30 a.m.)

 

[YukiNieve]

Deleted

 

[SidelineSkater]

As a new FOFS member...when do they usually email presale codes? And yes, I've checked my spam folder.

 

[Spikefan]

I got mine at 9:30.

 

[Flip Jump]

Got our tickets what I wanted.

 

[YukiNieve]

I cannot enter the code.

 

[acraven]

It varies, but I received mine about 9:40 St. Louis time. I was able to click through to buy tickets around 9:55. Sometimes the code seems to arrive just seconds before tickets go on sale--but that may just be my email; my service is glitchy.

In any case, congrats to St. Louis for a presale process that worked. It has often been a wildly frustrating process.

 

[acraven]

Click on Continue to Map.
Click into the Promo Code box at top center and enter the code.
Click Apply.

That worked for me. Double-check the promo code. It would be easy to confuse the 5 and the letter "S".