NHL HUB-BUB
Vancouver has good shot at becoming league tournament centre
Vancouver has a long, hockey-hosting history. Edmonton has a sparkling and spacious new arena.
While both NHL cities have submitted bids to be one of four tournament hubs when the season resumes — and are ahead of the curve in addressing coronavirus pandemic concerns that placed the league on pause March 12 — resuming play is complicated.
There’s the testing of players on a regular basis and keeping them in hotel isolation for months and away from family. That trumps escalating escrow clawbacks from plunging hockey-related revenue — the league stands to lose US$1 billion if the season is scuttled — and obvious skating and conditioning concerns.
Until the high hurdle of a process for reliable and frequent COVID-19 testing is cleared and doesn’t place professionals ahead of citizens, then the conversation can shift to the game and playing in empty rinks because of social-distancing edicts.
“There would be parameters we’ve talked about,” said the provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry. “I would not see there being an (arena) audience for example, but we could broadcast the games. And there are ways that players could take precautions to ensure there’s physical distancing.”
On Tuesday, B.C. health officials reported eight new positive cases to bring the provincial total to 2,232. There were four more deaths to up the count to 121. In Vancouver Coastal Health, there are 849 confirmed cases with 74 deaths and 575 recoveries.
Alberta Health Services has reported 5,386 confirmed cases with 104 deaths and 2,942 recoveries. In the Edmonton region, there are
503 cases and only 12 deaths. The province has also completed 164,722 tests compared to 96,517 in B.C., which includes 27,850 in VCH.
Unlike other international airports in the country, Edmonton wasn’t hit with an influx of travellers from Asia and the U.S. when the virus became a pandemic. There was little cross-border traffic and with low population density in Edmonton, and the province having the youngest population in Canada, the impact of COVID-19 in the
There are ways that players could take precautions to ensure there’s physical distancing.”
Dr. Bonnie Henry
provincial capital was lessened.
There was also aggressive testing and not the meat-packing plant outbreaks in southern Alberta.
In the interim, hosting bids are largely predicated on stimulating the economy because of lodging and food-service demands to feed hundreds of players for at least two months. Aziz Rajwani, a professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business and Langara School of Management, sees positives in the Canucks’ interest.
“The stimulus is subject to debate because you have to look at incremental costs and in a normal economy, you could ask what does it bring?” Rajwani said Tuesday. “But right now, the stimulus would be great because COVID-19 has hit the hospitality and hotel industries where they’re basically shut down and it (revenue) is zero for most places.
“There’s a whole hub of hotels around Rogers Arena within walking distance. And with the casino (JW Marriott) where (NHL commissioner) Gary Bettman probably stayed for the draft, that bodes well for Vancouver. Everybody is suffering now, so any business is good business.
“The practice facility will probably be out at UBC (three rinks) and the other benefit — and normally you don’t consider it an economic benefit — is that times are hard right now. And when sports teams want to get money from governments, they always use civic pride.
“And right now, Vancouver needs that stimulus to just feel good about the city as a whole — that somebody would choose the city and the players are here and there’s a certain sense of normalcy.”
Vancouver has at least a dozen five-star hotels in the downtown core that house from 377 to 733 rooms. But convincing the NHL that television-ready Rogers Arena, Pacific Coliseum, UBC, Abbotsford and Langley could also meet criteria for games and practices, multiple locker-rooms, gyms, medical treatment facilities and transportation will be challenging.
Edmonton has a leg up with the new and spacious Rogers Place. It sports several large locker-rooms, a practice facility attached to the building and a new 346-room JW Marriott hotel across the street and accessed by an overhead tunnel.
Vancouver can counter with its 517-room JW Marriott a block away from Rogers Arena and proximity to worldclass restaurants and seaside strolls to stay sane. The Canucks put out a statement regarding their bid while the Oilers refused to comment Tuesday.
“We would certainly have a strong interest in hosting games in Vancouver, if the NHL decides to move forward with the hub-city scenario, providing the plan is in accordance set by health authorities and the provincial government,” said Canucks chief operating officer Trent Carroll.
Lisa Beare, B.C.’s minister of tourism, arts and culture, is also a bid advocate.
“British Columbia has world-class sports facilities and a strong record in hosting sport tournaments,” she said. “I have spoken with the Canucks about their plans to restart NHL play and our government would welcome a plan to host games in B.C. that adheres to the provincial health officer’s directives and advice.”