2017 will be a banner year for sports in Ottawa
Capital will be a city of championships for the country’s 150th birthday
Brace yourself.
As the clock ticks toward the new year, it’s worth noting the unprecedented 2017 sports calendar on the horizon for Ottawa.
Call it a perfect storm, a collision of milestone birthdays of the country and the sporting world, especially the hockey world, to make the National Capital Region a place to be (or to avoid, if you don’t like sports).
As the country turns 150 years old, Canada’s capital city is using the occasion to celebrate all manner of sports, including the 2017 Grey Cup game at TD Place.
That birthday meshes nicely with the NHL’s 100th anniversary. The first day of NHL action took place on Dec. 19, 1917, and Ottawa played host to one of two games on the calendar that day — the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Senators 7-4 at Dey’s Arena in Ottawa.
Because the modern-day Senators also happen to be marking their 25th anniversary in 2017, an outdoor game at TD Place (after a bid to play at Parliament Hill failed) is a way to commemorate both hockey birthdays. That game is expected to happen, although the final approval is pending.
What follows is by no means a complete list, but touches on some of the myriad sporting events coming to the region in 2017, somewhat in order:
National figure skating championships, Jan. 16-22, TD Place arena.
Davis Cup tennis, CanadaGreat Britain, round 1, Feb. 3-5, TD Place arena.
Hockey Exhibit (including Rocket Richard jersey and Stanley Cup rings) March 3-Oct. 9, Canadian Museum of History.
Stanley Cup monument groundbreaking ceremony and numerous meet-and-greet opportunities involving the Stanley Cup, including a Cup gala, March 15-18, various sites. Canadian Museum of History, Rideau Hall, Aberdeen Pavilion, Sparks Street.
Red Bull Crashed Ice competition, March 3-4, Ottawa Locks/ Chateau Laurier.
Global Relay cycling road championships, June 24-28, Ottawa and Gatineau.
Canadian track and field championships ( junior, senior and Paralympic), July 6-9, Terry Fox Athletic Facility.
Can Am baseball all-star game, July 25, RCGT Park, home of the Ottawa Champions (who are reigning league champions).
CEWHA wheelchair hockey national championships, Aug. 4-7, Ravens’ Nest, Carleton University.
Whitewater canoe/kayak national championships, Aug 5, Ottawa River.
Ultimate Frisbee championships, Aug. 14-20, Ultimate Park Incorporated
World Vintage Rugby Carnival, Aug. 20-27, Twin Elm Rugby Park.
Canadian Pacific Women’s Open golf, Aug. 21-27, Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.
Grey Cup game, Nov. 26, TD Place, home of the Grey Cupchampion Ottawa Redblacks.
Curling Olympic trials (aka Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings), Dec. 2-10, Canadian Tire Centre. This will be a different experience compared to the cosy environs of Brier events that have been held at TD Place/Civic Centre in the past.
NHL outdoor game, still to be finalized, but proposed for Dec. 17 between the Canadiens and Senators at TD Place. The temporary stands would remain in place for hockey after the Grey Cup game.
Spectators and media attending these events will scarcely get time to draw a breath between competitions unique to the Ottawa area in 2017. Sports, of course, are just part of a full calendar of social and cultural events to mark the 150th.
Has the city of Ottawa experienced anything remotely like 2017 for the variety and sheer volume of planned sporting events? It appears not.
For perspective, I consulted Ottawa sports historian Jim McAuley. According to McAuley, the year 1967, the occasion of Canada’s centennial, probably comes closest, although Ottawa was decidedly a minor-league sports town at the time.
“Major junior hockey was a big thing back then, as we only had the Junior City Hockey League, which ended around 1956,” McAuley said.
Major junior did arrive in Ottawa in 1967 when a group led by Howard Darwin, Bill Cowley and Bill Touhey successfully bid for a team they would call the 67’s, in honour of Canada’s centennial. In 2017, the 67’s turn 50.
The 67’s began the season playing out of Hull’s Guertin Arena until the Civic Centre was ready. Hull would later get a major junior franchise of its own when the Hull Festivals (now the Olympiques) joined the QMJHL in 1973.
Other sports happenings in 1967:
Ottawa hosted the Grey Cup game. Sadly, Russ Jackson and the Rough Riders lost in the twogame, total-point CFL East final to a tough Hamilton Tiger-Cats team. The Ticats went on to beat Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup game at Lansdowne.
The East region Canadian national hockey team was based in Ottawa and included an 18-year-old named Butch Goring. The Brier was held in Hull. The Central Canada Intercollegiate Football Conference was formed and both the Carleton Ravens and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees played out of that conference.
McAuley will be busy keeping score next year. wscanlan@postmedia.com twitter.com/@hockeyscanner