The Memorial Cup hockey championship is returning to Halifax.
The Halifax Mooseheads have won their bid to host the tournament, beating out the Moncton Wildcats.
The Canadian Hockey League made the announcement Thursday, saying the Mooseheads will play host to the 101st edition of the league’s prestigious national championship.
“Very pleased for our hockey team, very pleased for our players, for our fans, everyone is extremely excited,” says Mooseheads owner Bobby Smith.
“I started my career as an assistant coach in the Memorial Cup in Halifax, and it will be exciting to host it in Halifax next year once again,” says Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell.
The four-team tournament features the winner of the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the host team in a traditional round robin format.
The event will take place May 17-26 at the Scotiabank Centre.
Halifax Mayor Mike Savage says for a city that just completed a multimillion-dollar convention centre and made a recent pitch for a CFL franchise, this is a big coup.
“It's just a really dynamic time,” Savage says. “I'm very happy, very excited that we can be able to add the Memorial Cup to that and I think we're going to blow the doors off it.”
The last time Halifax hosted the event was in 2000, almost 79,000 fans filled the area. At the time, it was considered the second highest attendance in Memorial Cup history.
“Volunteer count will be in the 700 to 800 area,” says Rob Harris of the Memorial Cup’s host committee. “It's going to be a great, large army of volunteers.”
Mooseheads PA announcer Ian Robinson was in Halifax the last time the city hosted the event.
“Seeing Halifax getting ready to host again and getting to see our players at the top of the Canadian Hockey League once again, and to be a part of that puzzle, it's a huge thrill,” he says.
The Mooseheads won their first Memorial Cup in 2013 in Saskatoon, and they will host the event the same year the franchise turns 25.
While there was elation in Halifax, there was disappointment in Moncton. With a new $100-million, 8,800 arena about to be christened and a 10-day city festival to go along with the event, some thought the Wildcats might have the advantage.
But the team had no regrets about putting in a bid for the hosting duties.
"We had a great bid and we were really proud of what we were able to present to the league,” says Moncton Wildcats spokesperson Courtney Heustis. “A big thank you to the community. We had so much support from fans, officials, business partners, so we really want to sincerely thank everyone."
Tickets for the 2019 Mastercard Memorial Cup are expected to be announced in the next few months.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek and Mike Cameron.
