Mem Cup 2010 - who hosts?

[hockey4]

who does everyone think will host. my breakdown with positive/negative:

calgary: + big building, more money, good fan base
- can guarantee building becasue the flames could still be playing (can hold 2 games in one day and CHL would not be able to display sponsors).

red deer: + big fan support, successful, community great at holding events, possible building expansion to what one would think 6800+, lots of $$$ in red deer, have bid twice.
- bid twice and failed. not much against them

saskatoon: + big building, likely good $$$$
- bad fan support, already hosted, successful?

everett: + good building, successful (sort of)
- geography (tv), too soon, not a hockey town

theres nobody else out there who i think could host it. So in the end my choice is RED DEER. Calgary would be there but ive talked to some other fans and they've all said the same thing; if calgary was viable they would have already hosted it (2004)

[old_time_hockey]

The team that I might add to that list is Edmonton.

Positives:

They have an NHL sized building

Large fan base to draw from (true not all Oilers fans might jump on board...but given a Memorial Cup I'm sure they will buy tixs)

Will be their 3rd year into the league and by this time will have a team that will be able to compete..IF the team is managed right. Giants went to round 2 in their 3rd year.

Large enough airport to get people from across the country in and out (Red Deer, yeah is close to Calgary but there is still a drive to get there. Same as Everett. Quite a hike from Sea Tac Airport.)

Will probably have the assistance and contacts of the Oilers office

Negatives:

They haven't been around long enough to pay their dues

Might not have a team at the level that the CHL would like to see in the Memorial Cup.

[canes77]

My guess is Red Deer because...It will likely be an Eastern Conference Team since the Western Conference has hosted in 2004 and now 2007, so count out Everett, even though they will likely host it in 2013. Saskatoon has already hosted it before so it likely won't get it, and I've heard it's not the best ice to play on. Calgary would have problems if the Flames were still in the playoffs, the CHL wouldn't want its sponsors on the boards and around the rink having to be changed every night. Calgary could host in the old Corral (since Vancouver is hosting in their non-NHL team's rink) but I doubt a 60 yr old barn seating 7000 would get considered. This leaves Red Deer, it has a new/decent arena and is within an hour of the Calgary airport. And as we've seen, Red Deer usually has a contending team.

[canes77]

Reasons why Lethbridge WON'T get the bid, (I live here so these our my opinions)...the rink holds 5500 standing room, the media box is too small (couldn't even fit all the Calgary media during the Playoffs, some reporters were forced down to the concourse), cloest big airport is over 2 hrs away, and the fans/atmosphere has a bad rep (players call it the library, which is true except for playoff games). I wish it could come to Lethbridge, so I could watch it but sadly I doubt it will happen anytime soon.

[GBG BLEED BLUE]

I agree that the big event should come to an Eastern Conferance team. Which city/team willl it be is the big question?

Maybe they should give it too a city that has not hosted it but they have to have the resources to make it happen.

But the other question is do the teams that want to try and make a bid have the seating capacity to do so.

I also know that arena capacity does not mean everything.

Brandon:5,102

Calgary:16,337(but the Flames play their also and they might need to use it then)

Red Deer:5,735

Regina:5,750

Prince Albert:2,580

Edmonton:16,839

Lethbridge:4.784

Kootenay:4,264

Swift Current:2,256

Moose Jaw:2,705

Medicine Hat: 4,006

Saskatoon: 11.310

So the teams that I think could host it are: Red Deer,Lethbridge,Brandon(maybe),Edmonton(but with the team being in the league for only 3 season,that could be a deal breaker) Calgary,Regina,and Saskatoon.

I think Saskatoon could be a strong posibility,but another city/team may get to host it instead.

[hockey4]

If Edmonton is allowed to host the WHL will lose ALL credibility. They will forever be coined as "the league posessed by the mighty dollar". Not that allowing vancouver to host without a bid didnt already do it. Plus it takes edleast 3 years for MOST expansion teams to be mem cup competitive. Also, with the talent pool continuing to diminish, edmonton might take longer. And yes canes77, calgary wouldnt be allowed to host in the corral, for reasons everyone should know and im too lazy to describe. Regarding lethbridge, even if they expanded the building to complete the bowl (not sure why they dont need the extra seats), they would still only have MAX 6000 seats, and yes no press box. Im still sticking with red deer, hopefully they bid. they wont have brandon around then but they will ahve ferraro, mappin, and the whordes of other prospects in the "system".

[dodywood4ever]

With the expansion of our rink it would be foolish not to let Swifty hold it. Except our airport runway is now a drag race track.

[Spungy]

i don't see why some of the smaller centers couldn't hold the cup. Kelowna did an awesome job of it and the closest big airport was Vancouver, over four hours away.

I would love to see a town like Swifty get the cup once they get their new building. I understand you have to be able to seat a certain amount of people to be a contender.

that fact puts Kootenay out of the running for now.
Along with the Airport expansion that is taking place now, in a few years i can see posibilities

[wango tango]

drawbacks to each bid.

the profit guarantee makes holding the memorial cup in venues of less than 8,000 a financially precarious proposition. (red deer)

the chl doesn't want teams mortgaging their future to load up a team to host the memorial cup. (edmonton)

the chl will not share facilities for their premiere event. (edmonton, calgary)

positives to each bid.

$$$$$$. (calgary, edmonton, saskatoon)

potential for a solid team (calgary, saskatoon, red deer)

if red deer can increase capacity from the current 6,735 to over 8,000 i would make them the early favourite to get the 2010 memorial cup. if the enmax centrium is not expandable, then saskatoon would become the favourite. and both of those would get blown out of the water if calgary could guarantee the saddledome.

1a - red deer (depending on building renovation)
1b - saskatoon (the fan support thing is a red herring)
3 - calgary (building guarantee would make them #1)
4 - edmonton (how good, how fast can the oil kings be? building guarantee. lots against this one.)

[transplantedbronco]

Hey Spungy. Kelowna has a major airport. With 1,000,000 + passengers last year its the 11th busiest in the country.