Councillor tries to sweeten the deal for Memorial Cup
Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki passionately calls on his colleagues on city council to agree to waive fees associated with a planned fan event should the Oshawa Generals win their bid for the 2018 Memorial Cup. Council voted unanimously to waive nearly $25,000 in fees for such an event.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
It didn’t come easy, but eventually councillors voted unanimously to waive nearly $25,000 of fees to assist the Oshawa Generals should they be the host of the 2018 Memorial Cup.
The additional dollars, on top of the already $200,000 of in-kind services approved in October, will waive a portion of the cost for the Generals to hold a fan fest event at the Tribute Communities Centre.
The CHL recently announced the Gens had made the shortlist along with the Regina Pats and Hamilton Bulldogs for who will eventually host the 100th running of the tournament in May 2018.
The final approval from council did not come easy though, as some councillors seemed to be weary of a snowball effect of dollars flowing out the door should the Gens host the tournament.
“We keep doing things in principle and the money that we’re attributing to this keeps rising,” said Councillor Amy McQuaid-England.
The sentiment was shared by fellow councillor John Neal, who said more information was required about the bid before council approves any more money.
“Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with hosting a Memorial Cup, but certain questions have to be asked before we stand here and vote on any motion to do with the facility.”
In particular, Neal wanted to ensure that other ice users in the city were informed that the second ice pad at the TCC would be occupied for this event should the Gens host the tournament. The motion also suggested that, as part of the deal, the Generals be urged to use city ice facilities for practice time for the teams in the tournament.
However, the hesitation seemed to draw the ire of others on council who saw the motion as a necessity.
“There are times when we need to spend in order to attract. This is probably the closest we’ll get to being able to host the Memorial Cup,” said Councillor Nancy Diamond.
For Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki, he had much stronger words for his fellow councillors.
“Come on, give your head a shake,” he said. “The question here is how badly do you guys want this. I’m beginning to question that.”
The motion was approved unanimously.