The 2012 Frozen Four is in Tampa at the Forum this year, which is not really known as a traditional hockey location. Typically these Championships are played in more Northern locations, or at the very least places with extensive hockey history. Well, Tampa might not have the most storied hockey past, but it was their recent Hockey history that helped bring the Tournament finale to Florida. According to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, it was the Lightning's Stanley Cup a few years ago that got these wheels turning.
"I think we evaluated every proposal that came in and certainly there were cities that we have gone to many times, more traditional college hockey cities, but I think (Tampa) was met favorably,'' (Wayne) Dean said. "And when it came in, Rob Higgins and his team did a great job of hitting the points we were interested in, so I don't think it was met with any skepticism."
This is the first time the Frozen Four has come to a Southern state, and it's very possible that if the Lightning had not won the Stanley Cup when they did we would still be waiting for that.