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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.