WalletHub's best cities for hockey: Minnesota towns snubbed from top-10
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota labels itself as the State of Hockey, between the Wild and the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments being among the best attended in the country.
But don’t tell that to the folks at WalletHub. They did a recent study of the best hockey cities in the country, ranking 76 in total on 21 key indicators. They range from ticket prices to stadium capacity, to how good teams in those cities are.
Six Minnesota cities made the list, but not one of them is in the top-10. That’s sure to rile up the hockey community.
Who made the top-10?
What we know:
According to the WalletHub study, here are the top 10 hockey cities in the country:
- Boston, Mass.
- Detroit, Mich.
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- New York, New York
- Newark, New Jersey
- Denver, Colo.
- Sunrise, Fla.
- Tampa, Fla.
- Buffalo, New York
- St. Louis, Mo.
The top-five cities make sense, being either on the upper East Coast or Detroit, which has the Red Wings. Tampa also fits, with the Lightning seemingly in the Stanley Cup conversation every year.
Where did the Minnesota cities rank?
Why you should care:
Six Minnesota cities made the list, and none of them should be a surprise. Here’s where they ranked:
- St. Paul (No. 13)
- Bemidji (No. 41)
- Minneapolis (No. 48)
- St. Cloud (No. 56)
- Duluth (No. 58)
- Mankato (No. 64)
It’s no surprise that St. Paul is the top Minnesota city, with Xcel Energy Center being the home to the Wild, Minnesota Frost and the State High School Hockey Tournaments. Bemidji is a hockey hotbed in northern Minnesota, and Minneapolis has the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s programs.
St. Cloud State has the Huskies, Duluth is a hockey town with Minnesota-Duluth and Amsoil Arena, and MSU-Mankato is annually one of the better programs in college hockey.
What's next:
Hockey is on the back-burner in Minnesota as we head into the summer months. By the time the Wild hit the ice in the fall, Xcel Energy will have a new name.