Canuck influx gives curling a foothold in Vegas

Organizers expect men’s worlds will shatter U.S. record

Jon Killoran will never forget his first conversation about curling with the staff at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He and his committee had to give themselves a bit of a pep talk before they went in.

“We were even asking ourselves if we were being naive,” he said.

Turns out the group was ahead of the curve — Las Vegas is an en vogue sports destination, even for events that don’t seem like a perfect fit for the desert.

After the 2017 world men’s curling championship finished in Edmonton in April, the true countdown to the 2018 edition in Las Vegas started. The Nevada city now has three successful Continental Cups under its belt, in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The formula has been simple — take a favoured vacation destination for Canadians and add a popular Canuck pastime. The numbers speak for themselves: More than 162,000 fans have taken in the 12 days of curling over 12 years, attendance figures Curling Canada — which helps produce the event — wouldn’t get anywhere else.

Walk around the Orleans between draws and it feels like you’re in Canada south — Saskatchewan Roughriders jerseys are omnipresent. At the airport the day after the event, Canadians are everywhere — not only heading back to the curling-crazy Prairies, but also to Ontario, which has been second behind Alberta for fan numbers at the event.

Killoran and some fellow board members were in Edmonton to take in the worlds, looking for things they want to bring back and promote.

“I would be hugely disappointed if we didn’t shatter any U.S. record (for attendance),” Killoran said.

That shouldn’t be a problem. The record 62,000-plus who attended the 2016 Continental Cup in Vegas came over four days. With the worlds going over nine days, simple math dictates the event should set a new high.

While Canadians make up the majority of the crowd, there has been some traction in the U.S. Olympic curling has attracted a following and so too has Curling Night in America on the NBC Sports Network.

U.S.A. Curling held its national championship in Jacksonville, Fla., last year, marking another chapter in the sport’s attempt to gain a foothold in the sunny south.

“Each ensuing event, we see more and more U.S. fans,” Killoran said. “I’ll get a call now from someone in Texas saying, ‘Hey, I’m watching curling.’ ”

Still, it’s the Canadians driving the Vegas curling train, filling up Orleans hotel rooms and restaurants and creating the buzz.

“It’s not woven into the DNA (of fans in the U.S. like in Canada),” Killoran said.

The Continental Cup — with men and women in action and a bit more of a fun format — might seem better suited for Vegas, but there’s plenty to be said for hosting a more prestigious event like the worlds. For starters, Killoran’s group was originally founded to try to bring the Winter Olympics back to the California’s Squaw Valley region, just outside Nevada, for the first time since 1960.

While the U.S. Olympic committee has had more of a focus on hosting the Summer Games in recent years, the timing could be right. Squaw Valley has hosted World Cup ski events, curling clearly is a draw in Vegas and with the NHL and NFL coming to town, there will be a major-league arena and stadium in place.

“All of this is changing (Las Vegas),” Killoran said. “The calibre of credibility (improves).”