The buzz around the Northland is all about the 2023 Women’s Frozen Four
Banners and signs can be seen across Duluth as the 2023 Women’s Frozen Four landed in town. “There’s a lot of excitement from the community, staff, hockey enthusiasts, etc. Duluth is a hockey town, so we’re excited to have them back,” said Jesse Hinkemyer, General Manager, Pier B Resort Hotel.
Thousands of people will find their way to Duluth with many shops, restaurants, activities, events and more to participate in while attending this national event. “It’s really great to have this tournament because it’s a post-season bonus event where we see between six and 7000 people over the weekend here in hotel rooms, eating out, walking and doing all those things that the North Island has to offer. So it’s really a nice economic boon for the region,” said Lucie Amundsen, DECC communications director.
According to those responsible for DECC, around 5,500 tickets were sold for both games together.
“Duluth loves its athletic fans. They come here in the AMSOIL Arena, and then they fan out and you can see them in Canal Park. I expect Lincoln Park to be very busy across the hill. All of these places are going to rebound and that’s just great for everyone,” Amundsen said.
As it has been eleven years since DECC has held a national sporting event, the venue previously created a new program where organizations can provide volunteers at concession stands and DECC will make donations to their cause.
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The Frozen Four has not been played in Duluth since 2012 when it opened at AMSOIL Arena. The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs won their last national championship in 2010.
Everyone is raving about the event, especially for the tourism and hotel industry hoping for an economic upswing.
“We are very thankful to have the DECC right here in our backyard. So many great events are held here, be it concerts or conventions or now sporting events like this and we are delighted to have these fans coming to town this week. So the impact is very direct for us here at Grandmas, but also a huge impact on the community as a whole,” said Tony Bronson, Director of Business Development at Grandma’s Restaurant Company.
In terms of hotel bookings, Hinkemeyer added that weekly hotel bookings for the Pier B Resort Hotel don’t usually go like this. “This is not normally a week when we are very busy, but with this event we are now. There were bookings in the books waiting to see how things panned out with different teams. As that solidified, things picked up significantly and we’ll be sold out most of the week.”
Year after year, the game of hockey continues to evolve across Northland, with more and more youth players joining the sport. As the girls game continues to grow in popularity, players are excited to see these older girls on the ice.
“The women’s teams from the local universities, especially the UMD, we were very close this year. They are very proud of the tradition we have here. So for locals who come and see the local team doing well. Now I can see some of these other teams from across the country and say, hey, I’d love to do that one day. I want to be a part of that, and that’s huge,” said Hinkemeyer.
The women’s Frozen Four begins Friday at 2:30 p.m. with Ohio State and Northeastern states, with Wisconsin and Minnesota hitting the ice at 6 p.m. The national championship takes place on Sunday at 15:00. The games can also be streamed via the ESPN+ app or their website.