Preparations for Memorial Cup well underway in Saint John
The countdown to the Memorial Cup is on with less than two months to go until the city of Saint John plays host to one of the most high-profile and prestigious hockey championships in Canada.
“We’re exactly 57 days away so it’s right around the corner,” says president of the Saint John Sea Dogs Trevor Georgie. “It’s obviously a major event and it takes a lot of horsepower to get ready and also to execute.”
Organizers have secured a team of 500 volunteers who have signed up to help during the more than week-long national tournament, and at this point, about 20 per cent of tickets remain.
“We were on pace to probably sell this event out before Christmas but then the lockdowns happened,” says Saint John Bid Committee Chair Mark-Anthony Ashfield. “That certainly put a bit of a damper on some of the ticket sales, but now things are going great — we fully expect this event to be sold out.”
The Memorial Cup was put on pause for the past two years due to the pandemic, and was last hosted in 2019 in Halifax – an event that drew tens of thousands of participants and spectators to the city.
“In 2019, the Memorial Cup in Halifax generated almost $18 million in economic impact for the province of Nova Scotia,” CHL president Dan MacKenzie said in September, at the announcement that Saint John was successful in its bid.
“Our expectation is that the event here in New Brunswick will be just as impactful.”
Georgie says along with hockey, there will be much more fanfare happening around the city as well.
“We’ve nights of fireworks shows, we’ve got the hockey hall of fame coming in and doing an exhibit, we have a speaker series focused on equity, diversity and inclusion – we’ve got a concert series with major acts coming.”
It was also recently revealed that as part of the event, the host organizing committee will be building a ball hockey arena in the city.
“So there’s going to be lots here during the Memorial Cup, but there’s also going to be lots that’s left for the community beyond the Memorial Cup,” says Ashfield.
“Very exciting times for the community for sure.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
The dreams of a 60-year-old beauty contestant come to an abrupt end in Argentina
A 60-year-old woman saw her dreams of becoming the oldest Miss Universe contestant in history melt away in a haze of sequins and selfies Saturday at Argentina’s annual beauty pageant.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
At least 15 dead after severe weather carves path of ruin across multiple U.S. states in the South
Powerful storms killed at least 15 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.