The Victoria Royals have abandoned their bid to host the 2020 Memorial Cup.
The bid committee said it was too big an ask of the Vancouver Island market after hosting the 2019 IIHF world junior championship this winter.
“It’s asking people to pay out for another big junior hockey event one year after already paying out for a big junior hockey event … adding on to the fact that our Royals season-ticket holders [are also paying for WHL games],” said Cameron Hope, general manager of the Western Hockey Leauge club.
“The Memorial Cup is once in a hockey generation in any community. You want to be the very best you can be when you host it. We felt we would be at our best in 2023 [the WHL’s next scheduled hosting rotation], not 2020.”
Another consideration is that the Canadian Hockey League takes into account a host city with a strong club. The Royals are entering a rebuilding phase over the next couple of seasons.
Teams hosting a Memorial Cup tend to trade their top future prospects to load up on older players for the run at a Canadian junior hockey title.
“Saskatoon has not been back to the playoffs since hosting the Memorial Cup in 2013,” said Hope.
“It’s not just us factoring this in. The league is worried about that happening to teams, as well.”
There is also the stipulation that Memorial Cup venues must replace existing boards, glass and lighting with amenities that are NHL standard. Hope said plans are to have that done at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre by 2023, but that it seemed too rushed for 2020.
Hope said the Victoria bid could have coped with all three issues — the big-event saturation, venue upgrade and trading away longer-term prospects for an immediate team upgrade for 2019-20. But why rush it, he said, when the organization would be in far better position on all three fronts for 2023.
The Victoria decision leaves Kelowna, Kamloops and Lethbridge in the race to host the 2020 Memorial Cup. The WHL board of governors will vote for the host city on Oct. 3.
The Victoria Memorial Cup bid committee will remain operational in an attempt to gain the 2023 event. That decision will be made in 2021.
“We came to the conclusion 2023 would be a far better option for us. By 2021, our bid will be a well-oiled machine,” said committee chairman John Wilson.
