Speculation about Bemidji State's future regarding their hockey program, was boiling down to the construction of a new arena...well, that has ended...with GOOD NEWS! According to Inside College Hockey, an article came out on their site, regarding the situation with Bemidji State, on the potential of a new arena being constructed in the future.
The latest we had heard, was the bill went to the table to be passed and it has gone through. "Portions of the $716 million bill that became law on Monday (April 7) will mean new D-I arenas for Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State, and a new multiple ice sheet facility that will house the D-III program at Minnesota Crookston. Also included in the bill was $6.5 million for upgrades and improvements at the 19-year-old National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State."
This is the first step for the Bemidji State program to staying afloat. Everyone is well aware that the University's ultimate goal is to get into the WCHA conference (the first step towards this was their scheduling of non-conference games agreement). The overall goal is to keep the program alive and strong, no matter where the Beavers play.
This is great news for the College Hockey America Conference as it will help gain more attraction to the conference as current teams are structuring themselves for higher levels of competition.
Here is the Article