North Dakota a potential site for hockey's return

At this point in time, there's simply no way of knowing whether anyone will be comfortable with, or allowed to, participate in some type of tournament to finish off the 2019-20 season and award the Stanley Cup. However, the NHL has stated that is its goal since the league suspended play on March 12th, and one site that's being thrown around as a possibility is North Dakota.

In a new article for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman states "Several sites would be necessary, but Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., makes sense. Host of the 2005 World Junior Championships, the 2016 World Under-18s and the NCAA's Fighting Hawks, it is an impressive facility that is definitely more suitable than many other available non-NHL options in the United States."

He cautions nothing is imminent, but says the site makes sense, given its size and necessary logistics. This would be dependent on not having fans in the arena, of course.

As Friedman referred to, several sites are needed. How many depends on how many teams would be taking part in the play. 24 seems to be the most commonly stated number, but time will be as much a determining factor as anything else. The more teams involved, the more time will be needed. There are also issues such as travel requirements, will teams be forced to quarantine once arriving at a potential site, will there be enough hotel rooms, etc? We wouldn't be talking about just players either. There's coaching staff, announcers, broadcast crews, maintenance, and others.

Friedman says he expects other potential sites to be discussed by the NHL this week. There is a vested interest for players to take part as the longer the league goes without revenue, the more likely it is that cap restrictions become tighter and more of their paycheques are kept in escrow.

Source: Sportsnet

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