Winnipeg, Saskatoon share bid to co-host 2019 junior tourney

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Winnipeg and Saskatoon have joined forces in a bid to host the 2019 world junior hockey championship, a True North Sports and Entertainment official confirmed Tuesday.

The bid was made Tuesday to Hockey Canada officials in Calgary.

“The interview process went well,” said Rob Wozny, vice-president of communications and community engagement for TNSE.

There’s no confirmation of the other cities taking part in the bidding process, although TSN reported interest from Vancouver/Victoria, Ottawa and Edmonton/Calgary.

Wozny wouldn’t disclose the dollar figure of the Winnipeg/Saskatoon bid; host cities essentially buy the tournament from Hockey Canada. The price has skyrocketed since 1999, when Winnipeg offered between $1 million and $2 million to host.

Recent bids in places such as Toronto and Montreal have been in the neighbourhood of $20 million, as the tournament has grown in stature and become a ratings bonanza for TSN.

“It’s a very competitive process and we don’t want to put all our cards out on the table in terms of specifics of the bid,” Wozny said.

Wozny said Saskatoon was an ideal partner because of the proximity and the size of the SaskTel Centre, which has a capacity of 15,190. Winnipeg’s MTS Centre has a capacity of 15,294 for hockey.

“The biggest thing was the size of the arenas,” Wozny said. “It seemed like a natural fit.”

Winnipeg officials making the presentation in Calgary emphasized the community’s successful track record in hosting events such as last weekend’s NHL Heritage Classic.

“Winnipeg is a passionate hockey market,” Wozny said. “And I think we’ve proven year after year that we’ve supported world-class events. If we were given the opportunity to host the world juniors in 2019 we’d be just as passionate to get behind it, as well.”

In other tournaments hosted by two cities, round-robin games are split into two pools, with the playoff round held in one city. Wozny said the Winnipeg/Saskatoon partnership had not yet reached the stage of determining which games would be held in each city.

Several other agencies from both Saskatoon and Winnipeg were involved in the bid and presentation, he said, adding the process is “very competitive.”

Now they wait. Hockey Canada expects to announce the winning bid in late November or early December, so members of the host community can take part in the 2017 tournament in Montreal and Toronto later in December.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @randyturner15