DETROIT SELECTED TO HOST THE 2019 U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

(DETROIT – November 9, 2017) – U.S. Figure Skating announced the selection of Detroit, Michigan, as the host city for the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 19-27, 2019. All junior free skate/dance and championship level events will be held at the newly opened Little Caesars Arena and all junior short programs/dance, novice, intermediate and juvenile events will take place at the Detroit Skating Club.

U.S. champions will be crowned in ladies, men’s, pairs and ice dance at the senior, junior, novice, intermediate and juvenile levels of the U.S. Figure Skating competitive structure. The U.S. Championships, which serve as the final qualifying event to make the U.S. World Figure Skating Team every year and the U.S. Olympic Team every four years, annually attract more than 1,700 athletes, coaches, officials and media to the host community and is estimated to generate more than $18 million in local economic impact.

“U.S. Figure Skating is excited for the return of the U.S.  Championships to Detroit for the first time since 1994,” U.S. Figure Skating President Sam Auxier said. “Detroit and all of Michigan is a skating hotbed that is home to many of our top athletes, both past and present. Detroit, highlighted by the newly opened Little Caesars Arena and downtown redevelopment, will be a great host to our athletes, coaches officials and fans from around the country. It will be a wonderful event in one of the great, new venues in our country.”

The U.S. Championships, held since 1914, is the nation’s most prestigious figure skating event, with past winners including Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi and Scott Hamilton. The city of Detroit last hosted the U.S. Championships in 1994 at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit has also been the site of Skate America four times, most recently in 2013.

U.S. Figure Skating will plan the 2019 U.S. Championships with support locally from the Detroit Sports Commission, 313 Presents and the Detroit Skating Club.

“Suburban Detroit is the epicenter for world-class figure skating, so we feel the nation’s most prestigious figure skating event is coming home,” said Kris Smith, director of the Detroit Sports Commission. “The metro Detroit community is primed and ready to showcase our great destination, while raising the bar like we always do to make this the best championship experience yet. We believe we have the best venue in the country in Little Caesars Arena and partners such as the Mayor’s Office, 313 Presents, the Detroit Skating Club and Detroit Metro Skating Council.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships back to the city of Detroit,” said Tom Wilson, Olympia Entertainment president and CEO and interim president of 313 Presents. “The event has a rich history with a passionate fan following, and we’re confident that the athletes, coaches and fans will enjoy a first-class experience in our great city.”

Recent U.S. Championships were held in Boston (2014), Greensboro, North Carolina (2015), Saint Paul, Minnesota (2016) and Kansas City, Missouri (2017). The 2018 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships are set for Dec. 29, 2017 – Jan. 7, 2018 in San Jose, California.

Tickets to the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will go on sale in early 2018.

U.S. Figure Skating also announced the host cities for the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating qualifying competition season made up of nine regional championships and three sectional championships that will lead into the 2019 U.S. Championships in Detroit.