[Moncton] Centre Avenir Centre | 26.65m |~6 Fl | Completed

[lirette]

Originally Posted by drewber

As far as the World Juniors go I see this as viable. Saskatoon and Regina co-hosted back in 2010 with about the same amount of distance between the two cities and about 500k people between the two as well. 2024,2026,2028 and 2031 are all taking place in Canada so I hope we could get a bid in for one of these events.

It really just depends on if they are willing to get away from needing an NHL sized arena for every event. Unfortanutely this event has outgrown the actual markets that grew the junior game and is becoming more "white-collar" in pricing every year. I was happy to see Victoria had great attendance and atmosphere throughout the tournament this year.

My preference would be to see the tournament return to its grassroots and give back to the junior markets that grow the game. Moncton & Halifax would be a terrific host combination. Hopefully with a balance that each city gets at least 1 crack at a Team Canada game. The capacities are close enough that there's not a huge difference.

[stephan.richard]

Originally Posted by lirette

It really just depends on if they are willing to get away from needing an NHL sized arena for every event. Unfortanutely this event has outgrown the actual markets that grew the junior game and is becoming more "white-collar" in pricing every year. I was happy to see Victoria had great attendance and atmosphere throughout the tournament this year.

My preference would be to see the tournament return to its grassroots and give back to the junior markets that grow the game. Moncton & Halifax would be a terrific host combination. Hopefully with a balance that each city gets at least 1 crack at a Team Canada game. The capacities are close enough that there's not a huge difference.

In Moncton we are in a great situation to host a Worlds Juniors we have two rinks in town that you could fit 6500 plus people a game and an excellent training facility in the four ice and any available rinks in and around town. We have an excellent hotel community. This would make Moncton a great spot to host it in one City.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by stephan.richard

In Moncton we are in a great situation to host a Worlds Juniors we have two rinks in town that you could fit 6500 plus people a game and an excellent training facility in the four ice and any available rinks in and around town. We have an excellent hotel community. This would make Moncton a great spot to host it in one City.

I know you're in SK presently, so I'll fill you in.

The ice plant is still operational at the Coliseum, and they are still using the ice surface for ringuette and some minor hockey. The concessions have been completely removed, and I imagine it would take some considerable money to bring the Coliseum back up to speed for an international competition, even as a secondary rink. Since the World Junior's are only a two week event, it likely wouldn't be worth it.

Recently, at least in Canada, the World Junior's have become a two city event (Vancouver/Victoria for example). I would imagine this will continue in the future. I certainly believe Moncton/Halifax would be an ideal pairing, and I imagine this will likely happen sometime in the next decade (maybe even before we get a chance to host another Memorial Cup).

Of course, with a Moncton/Halifax pairing, we would be the second fiddle city, and subsequently get the lower profile games, but the difference between an 8,800 seat facility and a 11,000 seat facility is not really that great, so we should be able to negotiate some Team Canada games, and a playoff game or two. The final championship game would be at the Metro Centre of course.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Of course, with a Moncton/Halifax pairing, we would be the second fiddle city, and subsequently get the lower profile games, but the difference between an 8,800 seat facility and a 11,000 seat facility is not really that great, so we should be able to negotiate some Team Canada games, and a playoff game or two. The final championship game would be at the Metro Centre of course.

It's not difficult to have Canada play round robin games in Moncton with medal games in Halifax. The problem is that, given Canada's recent history, there's no guarantee the team will be playing in a gold/bronze game. I'm sure in this scenario Moncton would have little bargaining power and Halifax would be the main driver of a Maritime bid. If Moncton wants to play hardball it would be easy for the hosts to start looking at Saint John, or Truro, or Charlottetown, or Fredericton instead...

Originally Posted by lirette

My preference would be to see the tournament return to its grassroots and give back to the junior markets that grow the game.

I agree with this in spirit but hosting games in 3K capacity arenas is much less financially suitable (see: profits) than hosting in 10K or 15K arenas. I'd love to see a World Juniors in some very small towns but Hockey Canada has proven that the event can consistently sell out medium-sized venues (and the occasional large-sized venues).

The formula going forward of hosting in one large and one medium arena will likely continue into the future. Halifax and Moncton lend themselves well to this sort of arrangement, the smaller arena's size making up for the lack of capacity in the main arena.

The Memorial Cup would be a great event (again) but given the nature of the rotational cycle and the innerworkings of the CHL/QMJHL it wouldn't surprise me to see Moncton wait quite a few years to host again.

[PEI highway guy]

Of course, with a Moncton/Halifax pairing, we would be the second fiddle city, and subsequently get the lower profile games, but the difference between an 8,800 seat facility and a 11,000 seat facility is not really that great, so we should be able to negotiate some Team Canada games, and a playoff game or two. The final championship game would be at the Metro Centre of course.[/QUOTE]

MonctonRad, Did I read somewhere that the city was doing a study/report on a revamped use of the coliseum? I saw this as maybe an agenda item at a past council meeting. I imagine it will be used for mainly trade shows. There may be even a plan to cut down on the size of the parking lot.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by PEI highway guy

MonctonRad, Did I read somewhere that the city was doing a study/report on a revamped use of the coliseum? I saw this as maybe an agenda item at a past council meeting. I imagine it will be used for mainly trade shows. There may be even a plan to cut down on the size of the parking lot.

The answer to all your questions is YES!

- The city has had a report done on the future of the Coliseum.

1) - it will continue on as a trade show centre, and apparently can do this profitably. It is the largest trade show space in Atlantic Canada.
2) - the ice surface will be maintained (for now). The ice plant however is old, and when it comes time for a replacement, then a final decisions will have to be made in terms of whether or not to continue with the ice surface into the long term future or not.
3) - the seating for the arena will be reduced, and perhaps even eliminated completely (in favour of maximizing trade show space).
4) - the arena space may even be converted into some form of a field house which could be used for a number of different types of sport on a flexible basis (and for trade show space when necessary).
5) - the parking lot will likely be reduced in size considerably.
6) - the back part of the lot may be used for residential purposes.
7) - the front part of the lot facing Killam will likely be zoned commercial.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The answer to all your questions is YES!

- The city has had a report done on the future of the Coliseum.

1) - it will continue on as a trade show centre, and apparently can do this profitably. It is the largest trade show space in Atlantic Canada.
2) - the ice surface will be maintained (for now). The ice plant however is old, and when it comes time for a replacement, then a final decisions will have to be made in terms of whether or not to continue with the ice surface into the long term future or not.
3) - the seating for the arena will be reduced, and perhaps even eliminated completely (in favour of maximizing trade show space).
4) - the arena space may even be converted into some form of a field house which could be used for a number of different types of sport on a flexible basis (and for trade show space when necessary).
5) - the parking lot will likely be reduced in size considerably.
6) - the back part of the lot may be used for residential purposes.
7) - the front part of the lot facing Killam will likely be zoned commercial.

Possibly with future expansion of National Lacrosse League the stadium would be on the lower end of capacity but could be a draw since scheduling it around the QMJHL would prove difficult. Probably a pipe dream but who knows

[lirette]

No chance the coliseum would ever host a high profile league in the NLL. It has no appealing amenities to a professional franchise. If Moncton were to get an NLL team it would be at the Avenir Centre but I see this as highly unlikely as well.

I’m guessing the magic may not last into next season, given the # of games in the NLL I don’t think that would be a roadblock for scheduling. There are just better markets right now that would come first.

[JHikka]

Moncton isn't supporting its minor-pro basketball team - why would NLL investors look at the market and see any reasonable upside?

[L'homard]

Fickle Moncton hockey fans will not pay WJ hockey prices to see Latvia vs Germany and similar games.
I fear these are the types of games we will end up with, and they'll draw 2,400, if that , and only if there are a significant number of freebie tickets involved.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by L'homard

Fickle Moncton hockey fans will not pay WJ hockey prices to see Latvia vs Germany and similar games.
I fear these are the types of games we will end up with, and they'll draw 2,400, if that , and only if there are a significant number of freebie tickets involved.

One thing with the world juniors is that people travel around the world to see it. You aren’t just drawing in local hockey fans. Fans would come from Freddy, SJ / PEI etc not to mention the east coast of the US is where the biggest hockey markets are so you’ll get Americans too.

The key with world juniors is selling tournament packages but you need to include a Canada game to make it worth the while for the casuals. Splitting the 2 round robin Canada games would make a lot of sense. I’ll remain skeptical though until a Hockey Canada actually starts going back to medium tier markets Quebec City could very well be an option soon with the 2nd rink being Blainville or some place like that.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by L'homard

Fickle Moncton hockey fans will not pay WJ hockey prices to see Latvia vs Germany and similar games.
I fear these are the types of games we will end up with, and they'll draw 2,400, if that , and only if there are a significant number of freebie tickets involved.

They will if they're buying tournament packages which include those games. Your 2.4K crowd size is woefully small - Moncton wouldn't have an issue filling its rink for every game.

As an aside, and it's nitpicky, but Latvia/Germany would likely only be a matchup in one or two relegation games. Every other game would feature one of Sweden/Finland/Russia/USA. These aren't difficult draws.

I think you're being overly pessimistic on the overall draw that this event is on a national and international level.

Originally Posted by lirette

The key with world juniors is selling tournament packages but you need to include a Canada game to make it worth the while for the casuals. Splitting the 2 round robin Canada games would make a lot of sense. I’ll remain skeptical though until a Hockey Canada actually starts going back to medium tier markets Quebec City could very well be an option soon with the 2nd rink being Blainville or some place like that.

Blainville/Montreal won't be hosting WJC any time soon given the ticket/attendance issues they had for two consecutive events in Montreal. If anything, if Quebec City were to host it would seem likely to pair it with the new rink they're building in Chicoutimi.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by JHikka

They will if they're buying tournament packages which include those games. Your 2.4K crowd size is woefully small - Moncton wouldn't have an issue filling its rink for every game.

As an aside, and it's nitpicky, but Latvia/Germany would likely only be a matchup in one or two relegation games. Every other game would feature one of Sweden/Finland/Russia/USA. These aren't difficult draws.

I think you're being overly pessimistic on the overall draw that this event is on a national and international level.


Blainville/Montreal won't be hosting WJC any time soon given the ticket/attendance issues they had for two consecutive events in Montreal. If anything, if Quebec City were to host it would seem likely to pair it with the new rink they're building in Chicoutimi.

I was only referring to the secondary rink in Blainville. It one of the most generic rinks in the CHL but has practice facilities and is easy for tv crews to access. Pick whatever modern facilty within 2 hours of Quebec City that you want. Chicoutimi would make sense.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Why not just have both in Quebec City. They still have the old Colisee too.

[L'homard]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I think you're being overly pessimistic on the overall draw that this event is on a national and international level.

I never considered the packaged tickets and the international fan base.
And other than that, I truly hope I would be wrong and you guys would be correct.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by josh_cat_eyes

Why not just have both in Quebec City. They still have the old Colisee too.

The Colisee isn't in use anymore. Its awaiting to be demolished last I read.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by lirette

The Colisee isn't in use anymore. Its awaiting to be demolished last I read.

Old Colisee is just sort of sitting there doing nothing. Hasn't been used since 2015.

[HanSoloCup]

Has there been anymore word of Toronto having their training camp at the Avenir Centre?

[FeralFeline]

Re: Moncton Coliseum.

At the moment, they are giving it some TLC in the form of a fresh coat of paint or two, as well as making any required repairs that are small to medium in scope. The concession stands are still very much there, including any and all of the kitchen equipment. What has been removed are the temporary stands that would have once lined the back wall of the building, on the concourse. Given that those were of the foldaway and/or rollaway variety, and possibly just in storage), it wouldn't be too big of a deal to "bring things back up to speed." It even seems that they added the bottom row of seats back to the upper deck, which had been removed many years ago, for the sake of easier ingress/egress...

That being said, the Wildcats had to withdraw a bid for the 2015 Memorial Cup primarily due to the poor state of HVAC in the building (well, poor state of HV and complete lack of AC). Apparently the city had told Mr Irving that they were fixing the issue, referring to the installation/upgrade of dehumidification systems... Installing a proper, modern system (including AC) was a $2M upgrade, and already out of the question in those years. Likely because the "Downtown Events Centre" ball was already rolling by then. For those who haven't guessed, a proper HVAC system is now a requirement for the Memorial Cup. Funny tidbit: the video scoreboard upgrade that was done in recent years was also a demand of the league, imposed on a lot of the older buildings (provided they hadn't done it themselves). As were the improvised "boxes" behind the top row of seats, but that one is pretty common knowledge...

This is probably a major reason why older buildings are being left in the dust, as evidenced by the league president's comments (post Avenir Centre visit) about the state of home arenas in the Q and that only Moncton, Halifax, Quebec and Shawinigan were serious contenders as possible hosts at this time. So, the Coliseum could be brought into action as part of a two arena event: It's still very much intact and ready to go, plus a very competent arena (just not a concert hall). In this day and age, the lack of certain amenities, such as AC, could make it obsolete in the eyes of any high profile event.

All this being said, the quarter million in "emergency" upgrades to the ice plant (to bring it up to code) shows that the city has some interest in keeping the arena as part of the complex... but, I suspect it's future is very much as a second fiddle, much like the Halifax Forum, which is still active after several decades, but plays second fiddle to the Metro/Scotiabank Centre.

[FeralFeline]

Originally Posted by HanSoloCup

Has there been anymore word of Toronto having their training camp at the Avenir Centre?

They're in St John's NL for 2019... talks are for 2020, but not much news since September. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed, I guess.