Toronto bids for 2012 World Hockey Championships

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Toronto bids for 2012 World Hockey Championships



Jun 10, 2008 06:52 PM
Vanessa Lu
City Hall Bureau Chief

Mayor David Miller and officials with the Maple Leafs say Toronto is best suited to host the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championships – after all, where can you find a more hockey-crazy town?

"Toronto is the headquarters of hockey in Canada. I think the world championships should be where the headquarters of hockey are," Miller said.

"It's Toronto's turn. It's our time."

Toronto, which has never hosted the international tournament that begins every Boxing Day, is hoping the third time will be the charm.

"We've been to the altar before," said Bob Hunter, executive vice-president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "It's a matter of the right time, right support, and again, the right event."

He expressed confidence that 400,000 tickets for games over 11 days at the Ricoh Coliseum and Air Canada Centre would sell out quickly.

Ottawa is hosting the tournament in 2009 and Canada has won the right to host in 2010 and 2012.

Toronto elected not to bid for 2010 because it would have been too close for two Ontario cities as host. Winnipeg-Brandon, Halifax-Moncton and Saskatoon-Regina are bidding for 2010.

For 2012, Toronto is competing against Calgary-Edmonton and Saskatoon-Regina, and Hunter said the Alberta cities are probably the main challenger.

Hockey Canada has been listening to the bids over the past two days, with a final decision expected in July or August.

If Toronto's bid wins, the city would put up $500,000, Tourism Toronto $500,000 and the province of Ontario $2.5 million. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment won't disclose specifics, but says it has made a significant multimillion-dollar guarantee.

Miller said the event would turn a profit and put the city on the international stage. It's estimated 4.25 million viewers across Canada would watch the gold medal game.

It would also leave a legacy of refurbished city arenas and an equipment exchange program for children.

 

[G_DOG]

the last line is a joke.legacy of refurbished arenas ? LOL all the games would be played at the acc and ricoh.all the teams would practice at the new lakeshore lions facility which will be complete by then.once again the corporates keep giving us the koolaid and continue to make profits with government subsidy.

 

[MetroMan]

Maybe MLSE will budge and allow Maple Leaf Gardens to be refurbished for use as a hockey arena again. Please? Pretty please?

 

[Hydrogen]

And put Loblaws On Ice?


Ooh, sounds like a new show on skates!

 

[MetroMan]

the last line is a joke.legacy of refurbished arenas ? LOL all the games would be played at the acc and ricoh.all the teams would practice at the new lakeshore lions facility which will be complete by then.once again the corporates keep giving us the koolaid and continue to make profits with government subsidy.

As much as Ricoh is nice, it is ill equipped for an international event of this stature. I could see them at least enhancing the teamway area behind the seating structure.

 

[MetroMan]

And put Loblaws On Ice?


Ooh, sounds like a new show on skates!

Last I heard, Loblaws has stalled. The company isn't doing too well and apparently modifying the building to fit the use as a supermarket isn't as easy as they first thought.

I could see MLSE allowing Maple Leaf Gardens to be used for hockey/skating again. They're getting into condos with Maple Leaf Square. I don't see why they can't refurbish MLG to work as a year round skating rink with a ring of shops and restaurants on the upper levels replacing part of the seating.

 

[khris]

What about the Ice Capades?


In all seriousness though, this would be great to have in the city
I'm seeing a trend towards trying for the 2020 Olympics. First TransitCity, then this.

 

[dowlingm]

Could the second Leaside pad forthcoming on the Film Censor Board lands be outfitted as a venue for low-demand pool matchups?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Maybe for the non-hockey types, we could get the World's Chess Companionship. But, would we be able the rowdiness from the chess fans?

 

[jn_12]

the last line is a joke.legacy of refurbished arenas ? LOL all the games would be played at the acc and ricoh.all the teams would practice at the new lakeshore lions facility which will be complete by then.once again the corporates keep giving us the koolaid and continue to make profits with government subsidy.

I didn't realize people here knew so little about sports and how these things work. It's not that arenas would get upgraded so they can host games. Games would probably be hosted by a combination of OHL rinks in Mississauga and Brampton, Ricoh, the ACC and maybe Copps. The other small local arenas would reap the benefits because Hockey Canada would make a killing off of the tournament and turn around and invest that money in local infrastructure. It's the same thing that happens when a community hosts a World Juniors. So the legacy is very realistic considering community arenas are (relatively) very cheap to build or refurbished.

As much as Ricoh is nice, it is ill equipped for an international event of this stature. I could see them at least enhancing the teamway area behind the seating structure.

It's a perfect size actually. It's roughly 8,000 seats which is similar in size to the arenas that are used for World Championships hosted in Europe. We're so used to grandiose NHL arenas that we forget that most European professional teams play in arenas that are half the size. It's a great venue for hosting just about any team not named Canada, and I would love to see a Sweden/Finland Czech/Russia game in an arena like that. The place would be loud as hell.

 

[indense]

It's the same thing that happens when a community hosts a World Juniors.

This is the World Juniors. The title is incorrect.

I think that it's likely that the Oshawa arena would be the 3rd venue since it is also operated by MLSE.