Region to help Gens if 2021 Memorial Cup bid successful
Durham Regional Council has agreed to pay up to $25,000 in funding and in-kind services as long as the Oshawa Generals win their bid to host the 2021 Memorial Cup.
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
Despite some trepidation, the region has agreed to help the Generals in the team’s bid to host the Memorial Cup.
The region has agreed to provide a matching operational commitment with a limit of $250,000 for the Gens should the team win its bid to host the cup.
The region’s support will consist of a combination of in-kind services, such as policing, and a financial contribution funded at the discretion of Commissioner of Finance Nancy Taylor. The funding will be contingent upon the team winning the bid.
When it came time to vote, all councillors but one voted in favour, acknowledging the economic benefits of hosting such a tournament.
Clarington Councillor Joe Neal says he doesn’t believe there will be any long-term economic benefits for Durham Region if Oshawa were to host the tournament.
Neal claims to have read a study showing the economic impacts of sporting events like the Memorial Cup are exaggerated, and notes the reason to agree to help is for the economic impact.
“There’s lots of worthy things we could spend our money on,” he says, adding he struggles to say yes and believes $250,000 is a lot.
He also points out that with the COVID-19 pandemic still causing problems, it’s entirely possible the Memorial Cup could be played with no fans in the stands.
Regional Chair John Henry says Neal is “absolutely right,” and the tournament could go ahead without any fans.
But because of this, Henry notes, “The demands on policing and transit will be substantially different.”
Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter responded to the Clarington councillor’s concerns, explaining to Neal this is a possibility the City of Oshawa has considered, and he fully anticipates the 2021 Memorial Cup will be played as usual.
“The reality being is that all of us are anticipating in 2021 there will be some promising movements for COVID-19,” says Carter.
The mayor adds they are planning to host a “world class event.”
“We have players from around the world who will be attending this tournament,” says Carter, adding the tournament has previously aided in improving the economies of the cities which host it, as well as their regions.
As previously reported by The Oshawa Express, a report to Oshawa city council showed the 2019 Memorial Cup in Halifax, NS had an economic impact of approximately $15 million.
Ontario’s most recent tournament was in Windsor and saw an estimated impact of $10- to $17 million.
However, there were still some concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on the tournament, with Clarington Councillor Granville Anderson expressing cautious optimism.
“We still have to face the realities of the different world we’re in,” he says. “Hopefully we are making allowances for that instead of just jumping into a situation that we don’t know down the road.”
Whitby Mayor Don Mitchell says while he supports the motion, and would love to see the Gens host the Memorial Cup, he doesn’t want it to be the one where nobody is in attendance.
“I’m happy to support this today, but we really need an analysis that’s on what it would be like today,” he says. “I don’t think we can assume it will be any better then than it is now.”
However, despite some councillors expressing some unease, councils voted in favour with Neal as the only dissenting vote.