Lethbridge has organizational skills to host Memorial Cup

OUR EDITORIAL: WHAT WE THINK

Could you use a ticket to the Grey Cup, or a Stanley Cup final? For sports fans, the answer would be obvious.

If there’s an opportunity to go, and the price is right, “I’m packed and ready.”

Now the next best thing is a possibility for southern Albertans. And there’s no need to book a flight or a hotel.

Lethbridge has a one-in-four chance of hosting the Memorial Cup in 2020, showcasing Canada’s top junior hockey players — the next generation of stars in the National Hockey League.

Supporting a proposal from a local grassroots organization, Lethbridge City Council has agreed to provide financial backing for its work — provided our city is successful when the Canadian Hockey League announces its choice in early October.

If not, the group will be thanked for its efforts . . . and the city’s cash will stay in the bank.

Clearly, Lethbridge has the organizational skills to make the Memorial Cup celebration successful; our track record with international curling competitions serves as just one example. We also have a first-rate arena — and thousands of hockey fans.

But our city has several worthy competitors.

Kelowna hosted the event in 2004, and the home-team Rockets emerged as the champs. Kamloops was the site in 1995, when the Kamloops Blazers won the hardware.

Victoria (like Lethbridge) has never served as host, and hasn’t had a Western Hockey League team qualify for the finals since 1981. And as the largest of the four cities, it may be at something of a disadvantage: Memorial Cup records show smaller cities are more successful in filling the stands.

And so it could be argued that Lethbridge deserves an opportunity to bring the event here, rather than one of the British Columbia cities. But maybe not. . . three years ago the Memorial Cup was played in Red Deer.

Just how the winning city is selected — somewhat like the Olympics? — is unclear. Does it depend on which city has the most successful team? Which committee makes the most impressive presentation? Or on which bidder puts the most money on the table?

Obviously there’s money to be made as host of a major sporting event; Calgary wouldn’t be talking about another bid for the Winter Olympics if it might not be as financially successful as its 1988 edition. Lethbridge council agreed to provide our local bid organization $1 million, in the belief that sum would generate considerable economic spin-offs for our region.

How much would that really amount to? What other sponsors would step forward? How much would southern Alberta fans be asked to pay for tickets? And how much will taxpayers be told about the venture’s overall financial situation?

Those are some of the questions to be answered. And to point out the obvious, here’s another: what can the Lethbridge Hurricanes management do to ensure our local team can rise to the occasion? As host, it would become the competition’s fourth team, going up against the best from the Ontario and Quebec hockey leagues, as well as the championship team from our own Western Hockey League.

We’re not going to fill the rink if our home team isn’t really a contender.

So residents of Lethbridge are offered an exciting possibility and — if our bid is accepted — an opportunity to volunteer for and enjoy an iconic national event.

If we succeed, we trust council and city officials will be as enthusiastic about ensuring there’s a transparent, no-secrets approach to financing the event, as they are in supporting the bid itself.

Comment on this editorial online at www.lethbridgeherald.com/opinions/.