Posted Jul 22, 2016, 2:09 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Edmonton
Posts: 2,763
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Quote:
Gunter: Saskatoon's CFR win over Edmonton is rodeo's loss
lorne gunter BY LORNE GUNTER , EDMONTON SUN
In rejecting the bid by the city of Edmonton and Oilers Entertainment Group this spring to keep the CFR here another 10 years, the CPRA huffed one of its goals was to “grow our sport,” a task they had found “somewhat limited in Edmonton.”
Maybe that was true, but I fail to see how that goal is brought closer in a city and province that are each one-quarter the size of Edmonton and Alberta.
The CPRA scoffed at the corporate sponsorship opportunities here, at the prices that could be charged for tickets and executive boxes, and at the television and advertising revenues available in Edmonton.
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http://www.edmontonsun.com/2016/07/2...is-rodeos-loss
I honestly think that the CFR backed itself into a corner and as a last resort had to pick Saskatoon as no one else wanted it. Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver all said no thanks, pretty telling if you ask me.
Quote:
Months of exclusive negotiations between the CPRA and the Oilers Entertainment Group produced some hard feelings that were compounded once the OEG’s final offer was rejected March 1 by the CPRA, which then put out the RFP and invited the OEG to respond along with other interested parties. When the OEG declined, and it became obvious that neither Calgary nor Winnipeg was going to bid either, the CPRA asked the OEG if they could revisit the final offer.
That wasn’t going to happen, and here’s why. Rogers Place.
More precisely, the attraction of Rogers Place to a global company like International Management Group. IMG is a major player in the entertainment business, with reach into concerts, golf, tennis, Professional Bull Riders, and most recently, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which it just bought for $4 billion US.
An IMG executive was on the phone to members of OEG the day after the CPRA rejected OEG’s final offer. That executive wanted to talk about a partnership and a PBR event in Edmonton. But not just a PBR event. As talks continued, the concept grew to incorporate a western lifestyle-themed festival that includes music and food. There will be an Oilers home game against the Calgary Flames, too. And the downtown events will help support the Farm Fair International agriculture show on the Northlands grounds.
The PBR announcement will come in early August, and should involve two events, a rather modest one on the newly announced Monster Energy PBR Canadian Tour and another that should fit seamlessly into the PBR’s top echelon. And that’s just the beginning of OEG’s partnership with IMG. There is even bigger news coming for UFC fans here.
“We have had very positive conversations about bringing (a UFC) event to Rogers Place in the near future,” OEG spokesman Tim Shipton said in an email on Thursday afternoon.
That doesn’t happen without the lure of Rogers Place and a partnership with IMG. And if that had to be the trade, CFR for PBR and UFC, I dare say many Edmontonians would take that deal.
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http://edmontonjournal.com/news/loca...skatoon-sunset
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