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How Edmonton is setting itself apart in NHL hub city bid – Sportsnet.ca

Published

4 years ago

June 22, 2020

EDMONTON — One thing you learn when you grow up in Edmonton is dismissiveness.

“Seriously,” the rest of the world — the rest of Canada — so often says. “Edmonton? Are you kidding me?”

It’s a city that has had to punch above its weight just to get into the arena with the lightweights. Then, over the years, it won enough lightweight bouts to build a sporting history by succeeding where the heavyweights had tried and failed.

In 1978 Edmonton hosted the Commonwealth Games, a small fry event. But it came away with a stadium that, 40 years later, is as nice of an outdoor stadium as our country has. In 2001 Edmonton took on the outdoor version of an event that had failed in Toronto — the World Indoor Athletics Championships in ’93 — and people laughed.

Well, they packed 40,000 fans a day into Commonwealth Stadium for 10 days, then plowed some of that money back into the ageing stadium, while the Big Owe was still a shabby foreclosure in Montreal.

Then, the next time Edmonton applies for a gig, it’s the same response: “Edmonton? As if they’re going to beat out Vancouver, Vegas or Toronto?”

We don’t know where Edmonton stands in its quest to become one of the National Hockey League’s two hub cities, but it is clear that as the process has gone on, so too has their bid adapted to both make up ground in places where Edmonton simply can not take on a Toronto or Vancouver, and exploit their obvious advantages over a Las Vegas.

For example: while Vegas can put all 900 people involved under the same roof in a single hotel, Edmonton can not. But what they can do is put the 336 NHL players (or the first 28 per team) in one hotel that is connected by walkway to the arena, and create both indoor and outdoor walkways throughout the Ice District that allow players and staff to walk outside to the rink and various amenities.

“A hard perimeter, with special transportation between everything,” said Oilers senior vice-president of communications Tim Shipton. “Or they can walk. The J.W. Marriott is across the street from Rogers Place, and the Delta is a block away.” Sutton Place, a third hotel that will be used to accommodate the rest of the nearly 900 folks in total, is about a four-minute walk from Rogers Place, and will be the first one phased out as teams begin to go home.

I know what you’re thinking. “The Delta? Sutton Place? How do you compete against the hotels in Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver with those chains?”

You can’t. But what you can do in downtown Edmonton is create an NHL Village, similar to an Olympic Village, with large outdoor spaces and patios that are inside the Ice District bubble. On a summer day (or night) in Edmonton, players will want to be outside sipping a coffee or having lunch.

Vegas can not say that from July to September. Vancouver and Toronto can, but can they produce an NHL Village across the street from their arenas the way Edmonton can? Do either have a practice rink for morning skates under the same roof as the NHL rink?

Edmonton can deliver concerts, golf simulators, basketball courts, ping pong tables on rooftop patios and a giant outdoor plaza where players from all teams can comfortably spend an evening, as the temperature dips to 18 or 20 degrees Celsius on an Edmonton summer night. All inside the Ice District bubble.

Obviously, they’ll arrange with Edmonton’s top restaurants to rotate through the primary eating spot inside the bubble. They’ll have their pick of golf courses, where teams can tee off at 2 p.m. and play a comfortable 18 holes. Try that in Vegas.

Another wrinkle the Oilers have come up with is to set up travel within Alberta for families, who may become part of this as the rounds go on. They’ll show the wives and kids around Jasper or Banff as Dad stays focused on the job at hand in Edmonton.

“As the tournament progresses,” Shipton said, “we’ll be working with Travel Alberta and tour operators in Jasper and Banff, if the families might want to spend some time at a place like the Jasper Park Lodge or the Banff Springs.”

It’s reminiscent of how Hockey Canada takes care of spouses and families at the World Championships.

Something else that the other cities may have trouble matching: There is a 50,000-square foot gym at J.W. Marriott, and the state of the art fitness facility inside the Oilers dressing room will be opened to all players as well. Two massive, brand new gyms, right inside the bubble.

Then there is the reason we are doing all of this: COVID-19.

There isn’t a city in the competition that match Edmonton’s numbers where coronavirus is concerned, because Edmonton is simply is smaller and further away from the world than the competition.

A lightweight, you might say.

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Sports

Fernandez and Dabrowski headline Canadian lineup for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Published

1 hour ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.

The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.

Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.

Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.

“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.

“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”

Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.

Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.

Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.

Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.

Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.

Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Penguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby plans to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin for at least three more years.

The Penguins announced on Monday that they re-signed the 37-year-old from Cole Harbour, N.S., to a two-year contract extension that has an average annual value of US$8.7 million. The deal runs through the 2026-27 season.

Crosby was eligible to sign an extension on July 1 with him entering the final season of a 12-year, $104.4-million deal that carries an $8.7-million salary cap hit.

At the NHL/NHLPA player media tour in Las Vegas last Monday, he said things were positive and he was optimistic about a deal getting done.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion is coming off a 42-goal, 94-point campaign that saw him finish tied for 12th in the league scoring race.

Crosby has spent all 19 of his NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, amassing 592 goals and 1,004 assists in 1,272 career games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar wins Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal

Published

12 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Tadej Pogacar was so dominant on Sunday, Canada’s Michael Woods called it a race for second.

Pogacar, a three-time Tour de France champion from Slovenia, pedalled to a resounding victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal.

The UAE Team Emirates leader crossed the finish line 24 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao of Bahrain — Victorious to win the demanding 209.1-kilometre race on a sunny, 28 C day in Montreal. France’s Julian Alaphilippe of Soudal Quick-Step was third.

“He’s the greatest rider of all time, he’s a formidable opponent,” said Woods, who finished 45 seconds behind the leader in eighth. “If you’re not at your very, very best, then you can forget racing with him, and today was kind of representative of that.

“He’s at such a different level that if you follow him, it can be lights out.”

Pogacar slowed down before the last turn to celebrate with the crowd, high-five fans on Avenue du Parc and cruise past the finish line with his arms in the air after more than five hours on the bike.

The 25-year-old joined Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet as the only multi-time winners in Montreal after claiming the race in 2022. He also redeemed a seventh-place finish at the Quebec City Grand Prix on Friday.

“I was disappointed, because I had such good legs that I didn’t do better than seventh,” Pogacar said. “To bounce back after seventh to victory here, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

It’s Pogacar’s latest win in a dominant year that includes victories at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

Ottawa’s Woods (Israel Premier-Tech) tied a career-best in front of the home crowd in Montreal, but hoped for more after claiming a stage at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks ago.

“I wanted a better result,” the 37-year-old rider said. “My goal was a podium, but at the same time I’m happy with the performance. In bike racing, you can’t always get the result you want and I felt like I raced really well, I animated the race, I felt like I was up there.”

Pogacar completed the 17 climbs up and down Mount Royal near downtown in five hours 28 minutes 15 seconds.

He made his move with 23.3 kilometres to go, leaving the peloton in his dust as he pedalled into the lead — one he never relinquished.

Bilbao, Alaphilippe, Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) and Bart Lemmen (Visma–Lease) chased in a group behind him, with Bilbao ultimately separating himself from the pack. But he never came close to catching Pogacar, who built a 35-second lead with one lap left to go.

“It was still a really hard race today, but the team was on point,” Pogacar said. “We did really how we planned, and the race situation was good for us. We make it hard in the last final laps, and they set me up for a (takeover) two laps to go, and it was all perfect.”

Ottawa’s Derek Gee, who placed ninth in this year’s Tour de France, finished 48th in Montreal, and called it a “hard day” in the heat.

“I think everyone knows when you see Tadej on the start line that it’s just going to be full gas,” Gee said.

Israel Premier-Tech teammate Hugo Houle of Sainte-Perpétue, Que., was 51st.

Houle said he heard Pogacar inform his teammates on the radio that he was ready to attack with two laps left in the race.

“I said then, well, clearly it’s over for me,” Houle said. “You see, cycling isn’t that complicated.”

Australia’s Michael Matthews won the Quebec City GP for a record third time on Friday, but did not finish in Montreal. The two races are the only North American events on the UCI World Tour.

Michael Leonard of Oakville, Ont., and Gil Gelders and Dries De Bondt of Belgium broke away from the peloton during the second lap. Leonard led the majority of the race before losing pace with 45 kilometres to go.

Only 89 of 169 riders from 24 teams — including the Canadian national team — completed the gruelling race that features 4,573 metres in total altitude.

Next up, the riders will head to the world championships in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept. 21 to 29.

Pogacar will try to join Eddy Merckx (1974) and Stephen Roche (1987) as the only men to win three major titles in a season — known as the Triple Crown.

“Today gave me a lot of confidence, motivation,” Pogacar said. “I think we are ready for world championships.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.

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