Newly appointed bid chairman John Wilson — citing events such as the 1994 Commonwealth Games, 2007 FIFA U-20 soccer World Cup and upcoming IIHF 2019 world junior hockey championship — said Victoria will lean heavily on its reputation as a sports host in trying to land the 2020 Memorial Cup.
The Victoria bid will also try to avoid the pitfalls the Regina Pats experienced in reportedly losing approximately $2 million in hosting the 2018 Memorial Cup this spring after paying $3.65 million for the rights to host the event.
Victoria is up against fellow Western Hockey League members Kelowna Rockets, Kamloops Blazers and Lethbridge Hurricanes in the race to host the 102nd edition of the major-junior championship of North America in 2020.
The WHL board of governors will vote for the winning candidate city on Oct. 3.
“This is a city that supports big events, going right back to the Commonwealth Games, through to the world juniors coming this winter,” said Wilson, who was appointed bid committee chairman Thursday.
Wilson owns the largest bus company on the Island, and is also involved in the ownership groups of the Victoria Grizzlies of the B.C. Hockey League, Peninsula Panthers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League and Victoria HarbourCats of the West Coast League of baseball.
“Look at the recent Basketball Canada event [Canada-China exhibition] for which we got a great crowd out at the Memorial Centre,” he said.
“It would be a wonderful opportunity to win this event [Memorial Cup]. Our city speaks for itself.”
Yes, but to a point. Wilson knows the bid presentation matters and must speak loudest: “It’s the actual bid that will decide it.”
Asked about Regina’s fiscal loss in hosting the 2018 event, Wilson said the Victoria committee is now working through the financial details of the bid. Those have not been announced.
There was much grousing in Regina about the $75 starting price of tickets and fans stayed away in early rounds despite having two local teams, host Regina Pats and nearby WHL-champion Swift Current Broncos, involved in the tournament.
“We want to make sure ticket prices are palatable,” said Darren Parker, the Royals senior vice-president of sales and marketing, who was named Thursday as the Victoria bid committee vice-chairman.
“We want to make the event accessible for every fan who wants to attend. We want to make sure anybody who wants to, can afford to go to the games. We want to keep ticket prices at a good level. We are working hard to put together a good, solid bid [in all aspects]. We have a supportive city and believe we have an outstanding chance.”
A key component of Memorial Cup bids is the prospect of having a host team that will be strong enough to compete and won’t be blown out by the champions of the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“We [Royals] have an unbelievable scouting department and we are confident we are going to have a great team in 2019-20,” said Parker.
The 2019 Memorial Cup will be hosted in May at Halifax by the Mooseheads of the QMJHL.
