Stadiums and Arenas of Canada part 2

[khabibulin]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Hockey Canada will surely learn from this and move on. Their biggest mistake was likely hosting the tournament in the same two cities twice in three years. A rotational model seems wiser, IMO, where a region/province sees the event once every ten years or so. HC almost certainly saw the successes in the previous tournaments (Ottawa, Alberta, Saskatchewan) and thought they'd be guaranteed two easy successes in Toronto and Montreal.

Quebec City/Moncton seems more likely to me but I would be over the moon with an all-Maritime tournament.

I think it's time for Winnipeg to get another shot!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1999 IIHF U20 World Championship

Host country
Canada

Dates
December 26 - January 5

Matches played
31

Goals scored
225 (7.26 per match)

Attendance
173,453 (5,595 per match)

Scoring leader(s)
United States Brian Gionta (11 points)

The 1999 Ice Hockey World Junior Championship (1999 WJC) was held in Winnipeg, and five other communities in Manitoba, Canada, December 26, 1998 to January 5, 1999. In the gold medal match, Russia defeated Canada 3-2 on Artem Chubarov's overtime goal.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

A half filled arena doesn't look good for marketing of future events though.

The CFL has opted to maximize profits by pricing their tickets for the Grey Cup highly, but it earns them reams of bad press when there are tickets remaining close to game day... this is becoming more and more common. I always wonder why they don't price the tickets a little more modestly and fend off that annual PR debacle.

Like it or not, a sellout crowd is a pretty effective marketing tactic. When it comes to sports, a crowd draws a crowd.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by Acajack

..Today of course the NHL-CBC-Molson, etc. marketing machine has several decades and generations of cross-Canada domination under its belt, and so the NHL is IMO the most popular pro sports league in Nova Scotia by a longshot, just as it is basically everywhere in Canada.

Saskatchewan is a bit of a lost zone for NHL domination, Another pro league is a lot more popular in the province and even pro lacrosse outdrawers NHL teams in pre-season in Saskatchewan.
As far as Basketball goes there is a long tradition of Basketball success in Saskatchewan, even before Trey Lyles of Utah Jazz. The Bedford Road Invitational Tournament (BRIT) is one of the most prestigious boys high school basketball tournaments in all of Canada. Since inception the Saskatoon tournament has hosted teams from outside of Canada and NAmerica.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_Road_Invitational_Tournament

Also one of the top FIBA 3 on 3 Basketball teams in not only Canada & NAmerica but in the world is from Saskatoon.

http://www.basketball.ca/3x3-canada-ques...at-the-fiba-3x3-world-tour-final-p157072

http://www.basketball.ca/en/news-article/saskatoon-qualifies-for-fiba-3x3-world-tour-final-p154905



• Video Link• Video Link

Originally posted by JHikka
Quebec City and Moncton are going to have two still-relatively-new arenas by 2021 and should be favourites for hosting I would imagine.

Originally posted by MonctonRad
Here's hoping for a Moncton/Halifax bid for 2021.

too bad about the bad attendance at World Juniors in Montreal & Toronto this year, but considering it was just there in the last couple/few(?) years, i'm not surprised attendance numbers couldn't be sustained.
If Saskatoon & Regina can't get it again in 2021, then I hope it goes to the Maritimes & Quebec City.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by khabibulin

I think it's time for Winnipeg to get another shot!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The challenge with Winnipeg is the lack of a suitable arena nearby. It worked when you could get away with staging secondary games in Brandon (WHL city) and rural rinks, but these days you practically need two NHL sized venues. The nearest one (in Canada, at least) is in Saskatoon... although I guess the distance between Winnipeg and Saskatoon is not that dissimilar to that between Toronto and Montreal, although the transportation links are much worse between Wpg and Sask.

They could have kept Winnipeg Arena and dusted it off once every 20 years or so for the World Juniors

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by esquire

The challenge with Winnipeg is the lack of a suitable arena nearby. It worked when you could get away with staging secondary games in Brandon (WHL city) and rural rinks, but these days you practically need two NHL sized venues. The nearest one (in Canada, at least) is in Saskatoon... although I guess the distance between Winnipeg and Saskatoon is not that dissimilar to that between Toronto and Montreal, although the transportation links are much worse between Wpg and Sask.

They could have kept Winnipeg Arena and dusted it off once every 20 years or so for the World Juniors

Heritage classic - World Juniors edition. Half the games at MTS, half at IGF.

[JHikka]

Winnipeg definitely makes sense as a host city...the biggest hurdle is a partner city/arena. If Hockey Canada/USA Hockey were feeling really ambitious they could try a Winnipeg/St. Paul joint bid. It's unlikely but

For me, what i'm seeing from this tournament is that the WJC in Canada doesn't necessarily have to be held in two NHL arenas like has been the case for the past couple of events. Vancouver & Victoria being announced before this year's tournament signifies this where there is a clear main arena (Vancouver) and a clear secondary arena (Victoria). This reason is why I see a Quebec City/Moncton bid possible as there would be a clear main arena (Videotron) and a clear secondary arena (Moncton). Just spit-balling.

Another concern is USA Hockey selecting Buffalo (again) for next year's tournament - signifying (again) that they want to rely on Canadian fans for attendance for at least portions of the event. This time, however, the Canadian dollar is nowhere near as strong, and with Buffalo hosting seven years prior the same issues we're currently seeing in Montreal & Toronto may arise. USA Hockey chose the easy route (Buffalo and Canadians) as opposed to a different route which almost certainly would have grown the game more in a market unserved by this tournament yet (St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa).

TSN likes to play up the whole angle of playing on home ice for the juniors and how much it means to play for Canada in Canada - but if the tournament is in your country every second year it sort of dilutes that whole angle. It doesn't make playing in Canada all that special when it becomes the norm.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Winnipeg definitely makes sense as a host city...the biggest hurdle is a partner city/arena. If Hockey Canada/USA Hockey were feeling really ambitious they could try a Winnipeg/St. Paul joint bid. It's unlikely but

A joint bid with USA Hockey could make good sense if the other city were Grand Forks. Winnipeggers made up a good chunk of the crowd (if not the outright majority) when GF hosted in 2005, and Winnipeggers are very used to making the 2.5 hour drive down there... it's a familiar place. GF is in a similar situation in that it would be hard for them to host on their own now. A joint bid would be a good way for both cities to get back into the game, although as we all know, neither Hockey Canada nor USA Hockey would be interested in relinquishing a good chunk of the purse so it probably won't happen.

Edmonton should host the WJHC on its own while it still has two big rinks!

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

A joint bid with USA Hockey could make good sense if the other city were Grand Forks. Winnipeggers made up a good chunk of the crowd (if not the outright majority) when GF hosted in 2005, and Winnipeggers are very used to making the 2.5 hour drive down there... it's a familiar place. GF is in a similar situation in that it would be hard for them to host on their own now. A joint bid would be a good way for both cities to get back into the game, although as we all know, neither Hockey Canada nor USA Hockey would be interested in relinquishing a good chunk of the purse so it probably won't happen.

Edmonton should host the WJHC on its own while it still has two big rinks!

2005 was a different time. With the Jets and the Moose all sucking up disposable hockey related income from Winnipeggers - I can't see the World Juniors being all that big a draw here - especially if they inflate the ticket prices.

Since the Jets came back, my own personal interest in the World Juniors has dropped substantially.

[GreatTallNorth2]

London/Windsor was shot down for the 2019 World Juniors despite the fact that the two cities are Junior Hockey hotbeds with London selling out pretty much every game (over 9,000) since Budweiser Gardens opened. I understand the economics, but not sure a Junior Hockey focused tournament should just be sold to the highest bidding city. Maybe putting the game in actual junior markets instead of constantly putting them in NHL markets would be a nice gesture.

[eemy]

London and KW?

[GreatTallNorth2]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

London and KW?

I would love to see that but the problem is that neither city has a venue that can compete with the NHL venues in terms of size. It's too bad because both cities are hard core Junior Hockey cities that have loyal fans and have produced some incredible players.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by GreatTallNorth2

I would love to see that but the problem is that neither city has a venue that can compete with the NHL venues in terms of size. It's too bad because both cities are hard core Junior Hockey cities that have loyal fans and have produced some incredible players.

Essentially to host a WJC in Canada you need one large 15K+ arena and one smaller 6K-12K venue. Vancouver/Victoria fits this bill perfectly. As did Saskatoon/Regina. As did Ottawa. Lately HC has been aiming for two large 15K+ arenas but as we're seeing in Toronto/Montreal that may not be the wisest decision moving forward. Kitchener-Waterloo/London would be a great bid to see but unfortunately neither rink is north of 10K and probably doesn't gain much traction around HC HQ. I'd love to see it, personally.

I agree that more attention should be paid to junior fanbases and towns throughout Canada wrt WJC U20. I always thought it would be wise of TSN to pick up CHL rights after losing NHL rights so that they could focus on CHL coverage to hype up WJC coverage at Christmas and in the lead up to the draft.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

London and KW?

Either city could combine a bid with Hamilton and the tournament would likely do very well.

Hamilton and St. Catharines would be another combo that might work, though the new Meridian Centre has a more limited capacity compared to Bud Gardens and The Aud.

[GreatTallNorth2]

Even though London's arena has been quite successful, I really wish they had built it to be about 12,000 seats or at least that it could be expanded.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by SaskScraper

Saskatchewan is a bit of a lost zone for NHL domination, Another pro league is a lot more popular in the province and even pro lacrosse outdrawers NHL teams in pre-season in Saskatchewan.
.

I'd say that's going a bit too far. It's more that the CFL is extremely popular in Saskatchewan than the NHL is unpopular. The NHL's popularity in percentage terms in SK is about the same as in most other provinces in Canada. Most sports fans in the province follow both the NHL and the CFL.

Also, SK is a huge hockey hotbed that produces more NHL players per capita than any other province, and maybe any other jurisdiction in the world.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'd say that's going a bit too far. It's more that the CFL is extremely popular in Saskatchewan than the NHL is unpopular. The NHL's popularity in percentage terms in SK is about the same as in most other provinces in Canada. Most sports fans in the province follow both the NHL and the CFL.

Also, SK is a huge hockey hotbed that produces more NHL players per capita than any other province, and maybe any other jurisdiction in the world.

The game of Hockey is popular in Saskatchewan, there's 5 WHL hockey teams in the province as compared to only one in Manitoba but the popularity of the NHL in Saskatchewan is lower than 30% of population following NHL hockey league, Manitoba next door has twice as many followers of the NHL. Canada as a whole has more than 40% NHL popularity. There is a definite difference between Saskatchewan and all the other provinces in terms of NHL popularity. NFL football is followed about the same degree as NHL hockey in Saskatchewan.

[esquire]

^ All that tells me is that Saskatchewan doesn't have a home team to cheer for. When I've passed through Sask and flipped through the papers, listened to the radio, etc., the media definitely reflected a strong interest in the NHL... it gets prominent coverage even though it's not blanket coverage of one team the way you see in a NHL market.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ All that tells me is that Saskatchewan doesn't have a home team to cheer for. When I've passed through Sask and flipped through the papers, listened to the radio, etc., the media definitely reflected a strong interest in the NHL... it gets prominent coverage even though it's not blanket coverage of one team the way you see in a NHL market.

Media doesn't always reflect what actual interest is; they often have their own agenda when it comes to coverage of various leagues. Also, after the local interest is covered off, they'll usually jump to "national" interest stuff, afterall they still do have to fill the air time.

But yes, if Saskatchewan had a home team, the interest would definitely be higher... but that's getting at what SaskScraper was talking about in the first place.

[SaskScraper]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ All that tells me is that Saskatchewan doesn't have a home team to cheer for. When I've passed through Sask and flipped through the papers, listened to the radio, etc., the media definitely reflected a strong interest in the NHL... it gets prominent coverage even though it's not blanket coverage of one team the way you see in a NHL market.

I guess that's the thing about either having coverage of a sports league or not having coverage, its either there or not at all & have to report on teams not only in Alberta and Manitoba but have to report 100% of all the teams including Florida and Ohio etc.. Media coverage of sports is about the same in Sask as everywhere else. People taking notice of certain sports and watching games can vary differently though from what media chooses to report of sporting events.

[Acajack]

There seems to be an exaggerated eagerness on the part of some posters to demonstrate that where they live is "above" typically Canadian pursuits... iike hockey.

It's all very bizarre.