Inside Lacrosse Announces Fields for Face-Off Classic and Big City Classic

I don't know what to make of this, but two of college lacrosse's biggest in-season events -- the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium and the Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium -- went into the sauna chamber this offseason and lost a little weight. Both still look good, but they're a little trim around the edges. That isn't necessarily a good thing or a bad thing; it's just a thing.

As announced today, Inside Lacrosse is bringing eight of the biggest names in college lacrosse to some of the largest venues in the country. Instead of the traditional triple-header format that each festival formerly held, the events will be limited to double-headers, which creates a frowny face for all of us addicts that like six consecutive hours of sweet badass lacrosse. The Face-Off Classic will lead the charge on Saturday, March 23, 2013, featuring an interesting Patriot League conference game and a huge non-conference clash:

2013 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic (M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore, Md.):

Game No. 1 – Colgate vs Navy (2:00 p.m.)
Game No. 2 – Virginia vs Johns Hopkins (4:30 p.m.)

No broadcast information was contained within the release, but the games will, more likely than not, show up on your television or Internet machine given the match-ups. Ticket information for the event is as follows:

Ticket prices for the 2013 Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic are: $35 for Club Level seats, $22 for Lower Level reserved seats, $18 for groups of 10 or more, and $12 for groups of 100 or more. Parking can also be purchased in advance for $15.

Lacrosse fans interested in ticket information for the Face-Off Classic can call the Baltimore Ravens box office at 410-261-RAVE. In addition to the Ravens’ box office, fans can purchase through Ticketmaster online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800-745-3000. Fans can also visit FaceOffClassic.com to get the latest news on the event and details on ordering tickets.

That isn't too bad of a deal to see what should be a monster game between Virginia and Johns Hopkins and the opportunity to watch Peter Baum do his thing (his thing being "destruction").

As for the Big City Classic -- or, as I call it, A City Classic (if East Rutherford is a big city, I want a scientific ruling on what constitutes the classification of a city as "big") -- the event will feature two conference games that will surely shape each league race. On Saturday, April 27, 2013 -- just at the sunrise of conference tournaments -- MetLife Stadium will host:

2013 Konica Minolta Big City Classic (MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, N.J.):

Game No. 1 – Princeton vs Cornell (4:00 p.m.)
Game No. 2 – Notre Dame vs Syracuse (6:30 p.m.)

Those are big, important games. It'd be nice to see those games on campus locations given the potential for rewarding local fans for their attendance and support, but these games should really create some buzz in the general New York metro area. Again, no broadcast information has been announced, but it's pretty fair to assume that somebody will carry the game other than local ham radio operators.

Here's your ticket information:

Ticket prices for the 2013 Konica Minolta Big City Classic are: $75 for Coaches Club seats, $45 for West Midfield seats (Lower Level), $45 for the Touchdown Club (Mezzanine) seats, $25 for Lower Level reserved seats, $20 for groups of 10 or more, and $15 for groups of 100 or more. Parking will be available on game day for $20 (bus parking $30).

To purchase tickets, call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or log on to Ticketmaster.com Fans interested in saving on group ticket purchases of 10 or more should call 201-460-4370. Lacrosse fans can also visit BigCityClassic.com online to find out the latest information regarding the 2013 Konica Minolta Big City Classic.

The only thing that would make this event the best thing on the nascent 2013 docket would be if Inside Lacrosse could have somehow gotten St. John's or Hofstra or Army to swing sticks at each other in some combination to form a potent triple-header. That really would have rounded out the event. Alas, we all shall abide to what we have been given.

Pour one out for the triple-header, folks. We'll now pal around with the double-header instead.