Curling Playoffs Loom at “Unique” Mall Venue

It’s safe to say when the host announcement for the 2024 U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Curling Championships revealed a competition in a shopping mall, there were more than a few eyebrows raised.

Heading into the final few days at the The Rink located inside the American Dream retail and entertainment center in East Rutherford, N.J., the collective feeling is that it’s been a week filled with fun—and a bit of relief.

Many of the athletes have used the word “unique” to describe the setup, while others have enjoyed bringing curling to a new audience. And despite rumors of a French fry, jellybean and other assorted items landing on the playing surface (to every icemaker’s dismay) from the concourse levels above, the show has gone on without a hitch, matching the excitement of a championship chase.

“It’s been a cool experience curling at the American Dream, being in the mall, and having a bunch of people new to the sport stop by, watch, take photos … and hopefully (appreciate) our game and what we’re doing out here,” said Korey Dropkin.

USA Curling Director of Events Aaron Kaylor said the biggest challenge from an operations standpoint has been the non-traditional nature of the venue, and not having the typical, ready-made elements of an arena.

“The biggest concern that people had was the ice, but it’s just a unique setting,” Kaylor said. “There’s no permanent seating and we had to bring in seats based on the tickets sold. There are no concessionaires, so we also had to bring that in.

“It’s not a plug and play venue, so it just takes a little more work. But it’s going really well and has been a fun week.”

This isn’t America’s first look at curling in a shopping mall. The Curling Cub of Houston used to play intermittently at The Galleria in Texas’ largest city, but that was recreational curling and not high-performance competition.

Major Canadian tournaments have been hosted at West Edmonton Mall in the late 1990s and again in 2022.

While ice conditions, debris or aromatic distractions were on the minds of some U.S. Nats competitors, Dropkin had one pre-event concern.

“Ironically, my favorite part of the venue is probably what I was most concerned about leading up to the event,” Dropkin said. “The amount of natural light we get during the daytime from the glass ceiling above.”

What’s been the best part about curling back East for the Massachusetts native now living in Duluth, Minnesota?

“The East Coast delis,” Dropkin declared. “They’re fast, affordable, and so dang delicious.”

So far so good for Team Dropkin as they head into Friday’s final day of round-robin competition in sole possession of second place at 4-1, just one game behind undefeated Team Shuster (5-0).

Dropkin will take on Team Ruohonen Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. (ET) before a highly-anticipated showdown with defending champion Shuster Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

Shuster, who battles Wesley Wendling’s foursome Friday at 9:00 a.m., said he and his team have had a great week at the popular Jersey facility.

“The rink at the American Dream is really unique and the staff has treated our families like royalty,” Shuster said. “And I know they’ve been working hard with USA Curling to make this really special and unique. It looks like everybody in the stands around the mezzanines are all having a good time.”

Interest has been strong among local NJ/NY sports fans and Kaylor said the second level (mezzanine), which is a ticketed portion of the venue, is sold out for the playoffs on Saturday and for both men’s and women’s finals on Sunday.

Standing room tickets on the third level remain for all remaining sessions.

Of course, it never hurts to host a national championship in the largest media market in America.

“It’s been the best media coverage that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Kaylor added. “We had three different TV stations here on media day, so that interest has been higher than any others I’ve been part of.”

Three draws are slated for today with the playoffs set for Saturday. The women’s final is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Sunday followed by the men's final at 4:00 p.m.