A string of sporting events is keeping the city of Halifax in the spotlight this month.
The city is playing host to a major national championship starting Thursday, with an even bigger world championship event right on its heels.
The Canadian Interuniversity Sport Men’s Hockey Championship is being held in Halifax for the first time this weekend, hosted by St. Francis Xavier University.
“It’s been a long time coming, you know 50 plus years and we finally get to bring the CIS Men's Hockey Championship to Halifax,” says StFX athletics director Leo MacPherson.
“A lot of people down here know that its good hockey, but now they're going to see it even get to another level, obviously, when you're on the national stage,” says StFX X-Men head coach Brad Peddle.
The CIS championship comes just two weeks after the Atlantic University Sport Basketball Championships were held at Scotiabank Centre, where for the first time, the men’s and women’s championships were hosted at the same time.
The city will mark another first at the end of the month, when Halifax plays host to the World Men's Curling Championship.
Halifax has hosted the Brier several times, as well as mixed and senior nationals. The event chair says he knows it gives the sport a boost.
“By staging these national events every four or five years, we give that impact back to the game of curling, people are watching it, talking about it,” says World Men’s Curling event chair Graham Harris.
Sunday's Brier final peaked at two million viewers on TSN. Harris guarantees the same caliber of play at the worlds.
“Come out and live it live, it’s great to watch it on TV, but when it’s so close, the atmosphere within the bowl is great,” says Harris.
There’s also the Halifax Rainmen. Tuesday night's win over the Moncton Miracles means the professional basketball team advances to the Atlantic Divsion final.
“We have it here in Halifax, professional basketball, great hockey, now we’ve got curling coming here, and now the CIS hockey tournament, so I think it’s fantastic for the city,” says Halifax Rainmen owner Andre Levingston.
A busy schedule for sports fans to choose from and for Scotiabank Centre. The facility is so busy, the Halifax Mooseheads will be playing at the Halifax Forum and the Rainmen are also looking for another venue, as they too could have one, possibly two games while the other events are being hosted at Scotiabank Centre.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
