It’s no longer go big or stay home
Brier officially announced for St. John’s in 2017
As little as nine or 10 years ago, Canada’s men’s curling championship — the storied Brier — was becoming a fixture in big-time Canadian cities with big-league rinks.
The slick ice at Rexall Place and Scotiabank Saddledome, home to hockey’s Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, was getting pebbled for the country’s top curlers. Same with Winnipeg’s MTS Centre, which would become home to the NHL Jets, Part II, and FirstOntario Centre, the former Copps Coliseum, a 17,000-seat rink in Hamilton, Ont.
The days of the quaint, little junior hockey rink housing a Brier were, like the corn broom, done.
“We had no chance … no chance,” said Brad Gushue on the odds of St. John’s staging another Brier.
But a funny thing happened within the boardroom of Curling Canada. Philosophies changed. Doors were opening to places like Kamloops, B.C. and London Ont. and Regina, Sask., the latter city a curling hotbed, no doubt, but nonetheless one with a 6,000-seat arena.
“Curling Canada looked at this issue, and we had to change,” said Ron Hutton, a Curling Canada governor and former board chairman. “We’re constantly changing. The entertainment world is a changing market.
“We asked ourselves: why can’t we bring the event into a smaller community? We’ve done that, not that St., John’s is a small market.”
It was officially announced Monday the city and Mile One Centre, with its seating capacity of 6,200 and change, will play host to the Tim Hortons Brier March 4-12, 2017.
It’s the second time the city has staged the Canadian men’s curling bonspiel. The 1972 MacDonald Brier was played at old Memorial Stadium, won by Manitoba’s Orest Meleschuck.
Between 2005 and ’09, the Brier was held in Edmonton, Hamilton, Winnipeg and Calgary, buildings that hold anywhere from 15,000 (MTS Centre) to 19,000 (Saddledome).
Since then, the event returned to Alberta in 2013 (Edmonton) and last year (Calgary).
But things changed in 2014 when the Brier was moved to a smaller venue not located in Regina, when the 6,400-seat Sandman Centre in Kamloops hosted the event.
Until then, the smallest centres to host Brier championships were Halifax and London, Ont., both with 10,000-seat rinks, and Regina.
“Gene (Trickett, chairman of the St. John’s bid committee) and I had a conversation maybe 15 years ago when we hadn’t gone to all the big rinks yet” recalled Gushue. “I said to him, ‘Why not St. John’s?’
“He was kind of aware at that time where Curling Canada was taking the Brier, and they were going to the NHL rinks.”
The Brier will continue to be played in NHL arenas out west, but the national curling association has proven it is open to having the event in smaller cities.
“With the bigger markets,” Hutton said, “sometimes you lose the atmosphere.
“I took a taxi Sunday night, and the driver knew what was going on in Paradise (Tour Challenge World Curling Tour event), and he knew there was an announcement today.
“You don’t always get that in a larger market.”
But don’t for a moment think curling’s decision to bring the Brier to St. John’s was a charitable gesture, fueled by an appetite to bring curlers to the far east because, well, it’s been 45 years since the last Brier was held in Newfoundland.
By forsaking the Saddledome for Mile One Centre, Curling Canada is not leaving money on the table.
All bidders – Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. and Regina were also vying for the 2017 event – had to abide by a financial model put in place by the national curling body.
When Newfoundland curling fans plunked down 2,187 $50 deposits towards purchase of a full event pass, they not only impressed Curling Canada, but guaranteed $1 million in ticket sales for the national body.
With the bid package came financial guarantees, not the least of which were tickets sales. The province and city stepped up to support the bid with $300,000 and $250,000 contributions to the event’s budget.
And a big budget it will be, to the tune of $7 million or $8 million, perhaps closer to the $10 million range.
Compare that to the $4 million budget the 2005 Scotties Tournament of Hearts women’s championship which St. John’s staged.
“You have to bring it up to a level,” Gushue said of the financial guarantee, “where they can still make a similar amount of money as they would in Calgary or Edmonton.
“It has to be financially viable for Curling Canada. You just can’t put it off anywhere in Canada. They have to make money because this funds a lot of programs they have. This is their cash cow.”
Hutton said a Curling Canada event team will work with local organizing committee to ensure the Brier model is, “scripted” from previous events.
“We have to produce a quality product,” he said.
In March, 2016, a full-time staff member from Curling Canada will come to St. John’s to work directly with the local organizing committee for the 12 months leading up to the event.