LEWISTON — Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte isn’t old enough to have seen the great mill hockey teams of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s play in person (he’s only 32, after all), nor is he old enough to have seen the Maine Nordiques skate at what was then known as the Central Maine Youth Center.
But quiz the Auburn native and St. Dominic Academy graduate on those — and plenty of other — events in the Twin Cities’ history, and it quickly becomes clear he is well-read, and well-versed, on the topic.
“I love the history of this place, so I think back to the international exhibitions we held for snowshoeing, and back in the days of the mill hockey teams when we would host large hockey tournaments,” LaBonte said. “This is of that scale.”
There is no hyperbole in LaBonte’s words.
Monday morning, after learning of the NCAA’s decision to award the 2014 Division III Men’s Hockey Championship to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, officials on both sides of the Androscoggin River were excited about the opportunity the tournament will afford them to showcase the area to a national audience.
“This is really going to give us an opportunity to roll out a red carpet in a way that I don’t think we’ve been able to in a long time in this community,” LaBonte said. “And when you think of Lake Placid (N.Y.) hosting it right now, and what kind of activities and the face of the community they have, this is our chance to spend the next 12 months getting ready.”
When the Maine Sports Commission, a year-old, nonprofit organization born with the hope of increasing sports exposure in Maine, began the bid process, the potential economic impact was clear.
“This is great for Maine, and it will hopefully help secure other big events,” MSC Executive Director Kerry Hoey said. “This is a great step in building a long-standing relationship with the NCAA here in the state. And especially for an area like Lewiston-Auburn, I think the economic impact, and how they can showcase their cities, is going to be really big for them.”
“One thing we’re going to see is some national publicity, and some national coverage,” Lewiston City Administrator Ed Barrett said. “That would be good for the community. In addition, it will be helping to bring a lot of people into the community for that event. We anticipate hotels, restaurants and other visitor attractions will see some real benefit from it.”
The Division III Men’s Hockey Championship, known in hockey circles as the Frozen Four, is scheduled for March 21-22, 2014, nearly 13 months away. But both Barrett and LaBonte are ready to hit the ground running — together — to make sure everything happens properly.
“I know (LaBonte) has already reached out to us and said he’d be happy to cooperate in any way possible,” Barrett said. “As we get geared up for the event, I would anticipate we’ll have a group from both communities plus some other organizations working together on it.”
“Everything from, people are going to have to have hotels to stay at, there are going to be pregame alumni parties at local bars and restaurants, there is going to be some good shuttle service getting folks from hotels to the downtown to the Colisee,” LaBonte said. “All of those are things that Lewiston and Auburn will do much better together, and it will probably require some shared investment to make sure we roll out the red carpet for the people who are coming.”
More Coverage:
- Lewiston to host Division III national hockey championship
- In the Crease: NCAA D-III hockey tourney a chance for everyone to work together
- Bowdoin assistant, Lewiston native excited for tourney homecoming
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