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Home , Blair Betts, Canadian Hockey League, Dan Hamhuis, Eric Brewer, Memorial Cup

PRINCE GEORGE MIIIDRIAL CUP DRIVE FOR 201s

A request from Mark Miller, Chair and Mike Doran, Vice Chair 2013 Mastercard Bid Committe for Prince George

To the City of Prince George Mayor Dan Rogers Councillor Don Bassermann Councillor Debora Munoz Councillor Garth Frizzell Councillor Brian Skakun Councillor Shari Green Councillor Cameron Stolz Councillor Murry Krause Councillor Dave Wilbur PRINCE GEORGE

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Introduction The Mastercard Memorial Cup is the “Stanley Cup” of Junior hockey. It is a 10 - 11 day tournament that features the top three teams of the (CHL), including the (WHL), Hockey League (OHL), and the Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). These top three teams, along with the team from the host city, make up a four team, round-robin tournament.

With 60 teams competing for this top prize, the Memorial Cup is considered to be the toughest in hockey to win. (WHL x 22 teams | OHL x 20 teams | QMJHL x 18 teams).

On behalf of the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup Bid Committee for Prince George, we appreciate your time in reviewing and considering our request.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• About the Mastercard Memorial Cup tournament Page 3 • The Bid Process Page 4 • Benefits Page 4 - 5 • Why 2013? Page 5 - 6 • - What they mean to us Page 6 • Prince George Cougars - Projected Team Page 6 - 7 • Preliminary Possibilities Page 7 - 8 • Official Request Page 8 • Thank You Page 9 PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.3 201sDRIVE FDR

About the Mastercard Memorial Cup Tournament The Memorial Cup began in 1919 by James T Sutherland during World War 1, who wanted to create a trophy as a memorial to remember the Ontario Hockey Association’s (OHA) players who died during the war. This trophy was dedicated in honour of the soldiers who died fighting for in the war. The OHA presented the trophy to the CHL in 1972.

The opportunity to host this tournament is shared between the three hockey leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) that make up the CHL. 2013 is the next opportunity for a WHL team (and community) to host the tournament.

This 10 - 11 day tournament includes 8 hockey games, associated conventions, meetings, dinner/banquets, golf tournament, concerts, and other special events.

This opportunity offers a tremendous benefit to the host community, and - is important to note - not necessarily the host hockey team. The Prince George Cougars share the exact same financial benefit as the rest of the teams in the WHL.

Only a ‘Team Member’ of the WHL/CHL can bid for this opportunity, thus, the 2013 Mastercard Bid Committee of Prince George is working closely with the Prince George Cougars Hockey Club to create and submit a winning proposal.

Communities who have hosted this tournament within the WHL include: (1974), (1977, 2007), Regina (1980, 2001), Portland (1983, 1986), Saskatoon (1989), Seattle (1992), (1995), Spokane (1998), (2004), and Brandon (2010).

Due to national sponsor agreements, this tournament can no longer be held in the U.S. This means that Prince George is one of a handful of communities, and one of only two teams in , that can, but has not yet, hosted this tournament. PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.4 201sDRIVE FDR

The Bid Process Although the official bid guidelines have not yet been released, a new bid process has been defined and is as follows:

- April 1st, 2011: deadline for official Letter of Intent to the WHL - May 15th, 2011: deadline for Preliminary Bid to the WHL If we make the shortlist, we will continue to the final phase - October 2011: deadline and presentation of Official Bid to WHL

We submitted our official Letter of Intent and are now in the Preliminary Bid phase. This is an abbreviated proposal that will highlight our communities ability to host a tournament of this magnitude, our projected roster for 2013 (how competitive our team will be), forecast / net revenue potential, and to highlight corporate / government support.

Benefits There are many benefits in hosting the Mastercard Memorial Cup.

For our community - Estimated Economic Impact: This tournament will have an estimated economic impact of over $1 Million dollars a day (approximately $11+ Million for the tournament). A study done for the City of Halifax reported that the Memorial Cup had an economic impact of between $14 and $16 Million in 2008. The final numbers for Kitchener, Ontario in 2008 were $15 Million.

For our community - Boost in Community Spirit: Although we pride ourselves in being a hockey community, ticket sales for both the Prince George Cougars and the Prince George Spruce Kings have been declining. We feel that this tournament will not only boost overall morale in our community, it will re-ignite our passion to view high level hockey within our community. PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.5 201sDRIVE FDR

Benefits ... continued For our community - Visitors Welcome: On average this tournament draws up to 2,000 outside visitors, not including the three outside teams and their direct personnel.

For our community - National Media Coverage: The Mastercard Memorial Cup hockey tournament is broadcast live throughout Canada by TSN () and some games are broadcast in the U.S. on the NHL channel (VERSUS). It is also broadcast live via the radio stations that have the play-by-play broadcast rights for each team competing.

For our community - a great warm-up to the 2015 Canada Winter Games: This opportunity is a perfect medium to showcase our community in a positive light, and timely to gear things up for the 2015 Canada Winter Games. TSN currently holds the broadcast rights for both.

For our community and the Prince George Cougars One of the largest benefits for this tournament will be re-igniting the passion for hockey within our community. With a very competitive team from now to the 2013 season the Cats should see an increase in attendance, however this tournament and the excitement it brings should solidify and continue that energy for years after.

Why 2013?

This opportunity will come our way again in 2016, 2019, etc., However other elements need to be aligned for this to be a true possibility. The 2013 option is by far our best chance for a number of reason, mainly because our hockey team will be at it’s peak from a rebuilding process.

Other elements are coming into play that are possible benefits for our community, like the World Junior’s being held in and Calgary next year, or other teams trading away picks that will impact their 2013 season. PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.6 201sDRIVE FDR

Why 2013 ... continued The chance to host the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup is in many ways the perfect opportunity for our community and the Prince George Cougars.

Prince George Cougars - What they mean to us Regardless how the Cougars have finished the season, they have always showcased and delivered exciting talent. Not only do we get to see this talent on the ice, we get the opportunity to be close and personal with them off the ice. All of these players become ambassadors for our community and showcase their support whenever possible.

To date, within sixteen years of operation, 24+ Prince George Cougars Alumni have played in the NHL. Some of these names include: , Zdeno Chara, , Tyler Bouck, Blair Betts, Sheldon Souray, Nick Drazenovic, Devon Setoguchi, Trent Hunter, Ronald Petrovicky, Chris Mason, Joel Kwaitkowsky, Dustin Byfuglien, Derek Boogard, David Koci, Dana Tyrell, and more!

The Prince George Cougars have also been one of the largest contributors within our community by providing well over $1.2 Million to many not-for-profit groups. As well, the Cougars organization is committed to providing their players to special events and functions whenever possible.

Financially for our community it is safe to say the Prince George Cougars directly contribute millions to our economy each and every year. Although an economic impact study has not been done on the Prince George Cougars, they have been done for other CHL teams. Kelowna $31+ Million/year, Kamloops $10+ Million/year, Saskatoon $10+ Million/year.

Prince George Cougars - Projected Team for 2013 The Prince George Cougars have a philosophy of ‘building within’. They are starting to see the benefits of PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.7 201sDRIVE FDR

Prince George Cougars - Projected Team for 2013 ... continued this process over this past season with a very competitive year. The 2011 - 2012 season will be very exciting as they will have a return of much of their talent and the addition of premier players waiting to put on a Cats uniform.

One of the hardest decisions for the 2013 team will be narrowing down the eligible talent to the top three as 20 year olds. Unfortunately this will mean we will be seeing many faces moving on with their careers, but will open the doors and opportunities for other talent to come on board. Our 2013 team should be lead by our top three 1992 selects, along with Jesse Forsberg, Caleb Belter, Tayler Thompson, Shane Pilling, Troy Bourke, Joshua Smith, Dane Phaneuf, Devon Fordyce, Alex Forsberg, and more.

This will be a team that is ready to represent Prince George and be very competitive for the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup.

Preliminary Possibilities

Without tipping our hat to all our ideas, we are looking at options that will expand the excitement of the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup tournament outside the CN . We are exploring options to offer family friendly festivities within our downtown area and possibly even with our sister communities throughout the north. This way, people who were not lucky enough to get a ticket can still take part and share in the excitement. PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.8 201sDRIVE FDR

Official Requests - What we are looking for from the City of Prince George 1. Official Support from the City of Prince George By May 9th, 2011 we are requesting a letter of support from Mayor Dan Rogers for our efforts to be the host community for the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup.

2. Venue Costs Currently we are in the Preliminary Bid phase of our process. Two of the elements of this phase are to showcase government support and forecast our budget. Other communities’ support for previous Mastercard Memorial Cup bids have been established and solidified, with the venue being provided to the organizing committee at no cost.

Unfortunately the CHL and WHL have not yet released the bid guidelines for the 2013 bid process. We are currently utilizing the 2012 bid guidlines as our structure, however changes may be requested from the league(s). With this, our second request is to enter into an Agreement In Principle (AIP) with the City of Prince George that will be the foundation and direction for a future final agreement between the 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup Bid Committee of Prince George and the City of Prince George. We feel this will be enough of a demonstrated commitment at this time to show the CHL/WHL that the City of Prince George is fully supportive of this opportunity.

We have been in discussions with CN Centre Management and our preliminary budget projections indicate an approximate total venue cost of $100,000.00 (potentially just under this amount). Our discussions have also led us to the following options:

A) Work with the facility to create an agreement that will allow the facility to generate enough ancillary revenue (such as facility fees added onto ticket prices; Food & Beverage commissions; tournament catering contracts awarded to the facility) to treat this as a type of co-promoted event, to ensure maximum potential for facility fee cost recovery; and/or

B) Negotiate a sponsorship, or partnership, agreement with the City of Prince George.

Therefore, by May 9th 2011, we are requesting confirmation that Council will support this AIP to cover the costs of the venue for the tournament, with the understanding that together we are working on cost recovery options that will be finalized when we move into the next bid phase. PRINCE GEORGE MEMORIAL CUP p.9 201sDRIVE FDR

Thank You We understand that these details may not be as defined as one would like, however we will work to solidify this agreement when we move into the next bid phase, before October 15th, 2011.

We appreciate your understanding on the matter and look forward to your decision.

Thank you for your time and consideration of our request. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and we look forward to the official presentation on May 2nd, 2011.

Sincerely,

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Mark Miller, Mike Doran, Chair Vice Chair 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup Bid Committee 2013 Mastercard Memorial Cup Bid Committee