Pittsburgh Officials Focused On Increasing National Exposure As City Hosts 2021 Frozen Four
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- We've seen many phenomenons in Pittsburgh sports over the past year.
Now you can add the NCAA Frozen Four to the list. The event is coming to town next month and nobody is talking about it. The people at SportsPITTSBURGH are trying to change that.
"Through a tumultuous time with live sports events, it is a really big deal that Pittsburgh is hosting the 2021 Frozen Four," said Jennifer Hawkins, the executive director of SportsPITTSBURGH. "It's showing NCAA rights holders that Pittsburgh can host an event under any circumstance."
That circumstance, of course, is the inability to pack PPG Paints Arena with fans like the NCAA did the last time Pittsburgh hosted the Frozen Four in 2013.
"We were spending most of our time planning for a cap of 500 people inside PPG Paints Arena and we have a plan for that," Hawkins said. "And now we're just working on what it would look like if we can scale up. We know that through the governor's orders, there are fans allowed in the building in a larger amount than we originally had, but we are still working with the NCAA to find out what that means for this event."
With selling tickets not being a top priority, SportsPITTSBURGH is focused on increasing national exposure.
"The Frozen Four was canceled last year so this is the first time fans will see championship college hockey since 2019," Hawkins said. "We can put a value on that."
With fewer fans attending, there will also be more of a focus on the athlete experience.
"For most of these guys, it's going to be their senior year and the culmination of their hockey career," Hawkins said. "We want them to feel like Pittsburgh did the best we could in this trying time."
Capacity at these games is still unknown but for information on possible ticket sales, you can register for updates here.