Centre Slush Puppie [500 de la Cité, Gatineau] | 4000 seat arena | Completed

[Horus]

Originally Posted by Acajack

No offence but I doubt Gatineau would go for that. At least not in the case of a Gatineau/Q-hosted Memorial Cup.

Perhaps a joint Ottawa-Gatineau cup might work.

Unlikely. There's really no reason for cities to co-host a Memorial Cup. There are only 4 teams (and one is the host team). The tournament format only requires one game per day, so building conflicts are not an issue.

Gatineau may have to get creative to be able to host a Memorial Cup.

[Acajack]

No later than last year (when the 4,000 capacity was already cast in stone) the Olympiques were saying they wanted to host the cup in 2022.

[J.OT13]

If the Olympiques were to host a Memorial Cup, they'll do it in Gatineau. You host the cup to promote the city and support local hotels, restaurants and retailers. They'll want to do that for Gatineau and the Secteur La Cité. They'll want to highlight their arena.

If they had it at LeBreton, it would just promote Ottawa, which would once again overshadow Gatineau. Nearly all of the economic benefit would go to Ottawa. Plus, Ottawa is home to the Olympiques' CHL rival, the 67's.

[J.OT13]

Let's compare with the old Guertin.









https://twitter.com/LesOlympiques/status/1033055896971227136[/QUOTE]

Ya... Pretty damn similar. Seems to be a couple extra rows and the addition of "luxury" boxes.

[Acajack]

Backhoes at work on the site this morning.

[corynv]

If I counted the pictures right, the old gurtin has 9 rows of seats (on the longer stand in the picture) and the new one looks to have 13. Probably just seems small because the new one is more open, and you enter from the top and not the bottom.

[Acajack]

It is true that the new arena will only have 804 more seats than the Vieux-Bob.

Not sure about the standing room policy for the new arena, though it seems like space and configuration would not be a problem if they wanted to go there.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by roger1818

They could always use the new arena at LeBreton if they wanted to host the Memorial Cup. So what if it is across the river and in a different province.

Given the issues that Hockey Canada ran into regarding using NHL rinks in Toronto and Montreal for the World Juniors (and the brutal ticket sales that followed) it would be wise of the CHL to keep the Memorial Cup in actual junior rinks. Full 5K arenas > half-full 18K arenas, any day of the week.

That and the Memorial Cup is run during the NHL playoffs so there's an immediate calendar conflict. Unlikely to happen.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Given the issues that Hockey Canada ran into regarding using NHL rinks in Toronto and Montreal for the World Juniors (and the brutal ticket sales that followed) it would be wise of the CHL to keep the Memorial Cup in actual junior rinks. Full 5K arenas > half-full 18K arenas, any day of the week.

That and the Memorial Cup is run during the NHL playoffs so there's an immediate calendar conflict. Unlikely to happen.

So a MC in this new building is possible then?

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So a MC in this new building is possible then?

I would say so. It goes to Quebec every third year, and there are only a few teams with really big arenas (Quebec, Halifax). Unless you want to have it in those places every time, you are looking at 4-6000 seat venues.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by phil235

I would say so. It goes to Quebec every third year, and there are only a few teams with really big arenas (Quebec, Halifax). Unless you want to have it in those places every time, you are looking at 4-6000 seat venues.

In 2012 Shawinigan hosted in its 4,000 seat arena. It's been hosted in a number of 5,000-seat arenas since then I am pretty sure.

[TheBrain]

Originally Posted by Acajack

In 2012 Shawinigan hosted in its 4,000 seat arena. It's been hosted in a number of 5,000-seat arenas since then I am pretty sure.

2009 in Rimouski with ~4200 seats, ~5000 total capacity(standing mostly I guess)

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So a MC in this new building is possible then?

Yes.

• New building for the QMJHL to show off.
• Large media market (Ottawa/Gatineau), easy to access for media partners
• Easy accessibility for teams, fans, etc.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by JHikka

[*]Large media market (Ottawa/Gatineau), easy to access for media partners

It'd be pretty darn close to a "home" broadcast for both Rogers Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

[Horus]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Given the issues that Hockey Canada ran into regarding using NHL rinks in Toronto and Montreal for the World Juniors (and the brutal ticket sales that followed) it would be wise of the CHL to keep the Memorial Cup in actual junior rinks. Full 5K arenas > half-full 18K arenas, any day of the week.

True enough, although I think the problems encountered in Toronto and Montreal for those 2 WJHC tournaments were more a factor of excessively high ticket prices rather than the size of the venues.

Also worth noting is that recent Memorial Cups have also been criticized for pricing out many of the CHL's core fans.

Regina 2018

Windsor 2017

London 2014

Next year's (2019) Mem Cup seems to be bucking that trend with Halifax opening up with ticket prices that at least seem reasonable.

Originally Posted by JHikka

That and the Memorial Cup is run during the NHL playoffs so there's an immediate calendar conflict. Unlikely to happen.

The way the Senators are looking to start this season, arena conflicts in late May do not look like an issue, maybe even in 2022.

All kidding aside, there is no reason for Gatineau to not bid for a Memorial Cup. However, in recent years the process to host the event has become tremendously expensive and the cost is being shouldered by the fans. This all seems to be heading to a tipping point where the consumer will simply refuse to pay those prices. If they can find a way to host that event in a (relatively) smaller venue, and still keep it affordable for the fans, then more power to them.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Horus

True enough, although I think the problems encountered in Toronto and Montreal for those 2 WJHC tournaments were more a factor of excessively high ticket prices rather than the size of the venues.

Also worth noting is that recent Memorial Cups have also been criticized for pricing out many of the CHL's core fans.

Regina 2018

Windsor 2017

London 2014

Next year's (2019) Mem Cup seems to be bucking that trend with Halifax opening up with ticket prices that at least seem reasonable.



The way the Senators are looking to start this season, arena conflicts in late May do not look like an issue, maybe even in 2022.

All kidding aside, there is no reason for Gatineau to not bid for a Memorial Cup. However, in recent years the process to host the event has become tremendously expensive and the cost is being shouldered by the fans. This all seems to be heading to a tipping point where the consumer will simply refuse to pay those prices. If they can find a way to host that event in a (relatively) smaller venue, and still keep it affordable for the fans, then more power to them.

I was going to ask whether Gatineau could afford the bid? I know the Kitchener Rangers have said that they are no longer in the running to host, due to the steep cost (they are a community owned team).

[phil235]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I was going to ask whether Gatineau could afford the bid? I know the Kitchener Rangers have said that they are no longer in the running to host, due to the steep cost (they are a community owned team).

True. I think that is more about the guarantee that the CHL asks for than it is about the cost of hosting the event. I hope they have learned their lesson and will be more realistic about the guarantee.

If Kitchener can't host it in a vibrant market of 500,000 people with a 7000 seat building, there aren't too many places that can.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by phil235

True. I think that is more about the guarantee that the CHL asks for than it is about the cost of hosting the event. I hope they have learned their lesson and will be more realistic about the guarantee.

If Kitchener can't host it in a vibrant market of 500,000 people with a 7000 seat building, there aren't too many places that can.

If I recall correctly, the article about the Rangers being unable to host suggested that the Regina Memorial Cup would run a deficit of over $2M. No idea whether that was accurate.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by phil235

True. I think that is more about the guarantee that the CHL asks for than it is about the cost of hosting the event. I hope they have learned their lesson and will be more realistic about the guarantee.

If Kitchener can't host it in a vibrant market of 500,000 people with a 7000 seat building, there aren't too many places that can.

It has less to do with market size and more to do with money on hand to host the Memorial Cup. It sure seems like the bid price is too high for a lot of teams. Obviously the larger the market the more likely the team is flush with cash, but it's not necessarily a 1+1=2 situation.

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

If I recall correctly, the article about the Rangers being unable to host suggested that the Regina Memorial Cup would run a deficit of over $2M. No idea whether that was accurate.

I think the Regina Memorial Cup was a bit of an outlier. It was selected out of rotation for the 100th anniversary. I'm assuming the rights hosting costs were higher than normal.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I was going to ask whether Gatineau could afford the bid? I know the Kitchener Rangers have said that they are no longer in the running to host, due to the steep cost (they are a community owned team).

Assuming that the new arena results in a full-house game after game, the Olympique's will probably have enough revenue to bid and host the cup. I'm sure the City of Gatineau, who actively tries to get out of Ottawa's shadow and VMSO, who will want to showcase their new venue, will put some cash forward.