A plan to operate NHL game hubs in Edmonton and Toronto could draw hundreds of hockey players and staff to both Canadian cities, but business experts say their presence won’t give a huge boost to local economies.
While hundreds of people could be employed in positions relating to the games and hubs — such as security jobs, rink staff, food services and hotel housekeeping — the financial benefit of two bubble communities under tight seal would be “modest” at best, suggested Bank of Montreal chief economist Douglas Porter.
“When you think of how many tourists would normally be in Toronto during peak tourist season, I’m quite sure this is less than one per cent,” he said.
“The reality is, it’s not going to move the needle.”
But Porter, a lifelong hockey fan, said he anticipates a “reasonably meaningful positive” morale boost to Canadian sports fans who’ve been eagerly anticipating players returning to the ice in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The games are slated to start Aug. 1 with six Canadian teams qualifying for the 24-team resumption of play. No fans will be in the seats.
Edmonton and Toronto were confirmed as the NHL’s hub cities on Friday night.
WATCH | NHL, NHLPA approve return to play for Aug. 1:
CBC News’ Raffy Boudjikanian outlines the NHL’s return-to-play plan, including the decision to use Edmonton and Toronto as the two “hub cities.” 2:31
“The fact that part of our world is getting back to some kind of normal will help reinforce the sense that things, generally, are moving in that direction and could help support the recovery,” Porter said.
The gradual comeback of major sporting events has drawn plenty of interest in recent weeks, with debates raging over the risks of putting players back into the games, even if spectators aren’t allowed in the facilities.
Further questions have been raised over whether rigorous testing is enough to prevent outbreaks within the isolated community, which could potentially throw the whole plan into a costly disarray.
Many of these factors make placing a value on hockey’s return especially difficult.
Michael Naraine, a professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., said the largest amount of money is on the line at large corporations, which he said is driving the return of major sporting events.
“The primary revenue driver for sports is broadcasting,” said the assistant professor of digital sport management and marketing.
WATCH | 9 things you should know about the NHL deal, in 90 seconds:
The league took one step closer to returning with a tentative agreement on its return to play plan and CBA extension. Rob Pizzo breaks down the deal. 2:01
“They need television advertisers come back. The league itself needs to gain its revenue from NBC and Sportsnet here in Canada.”
Politicians have preferred to emphasize the positive aspects of a deal with the NHL.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney eagerly promoted Edmonton as the ultimate hub city for the hockey league, posting videos on Twitter that prominently featured the Rocky Mountains and other popular destinations in the province.
Naraine said those public expressions by leaders are more an attempt to “pander” to their constituents than actually drive any meaningful economic impact. He said this is especially the case in Edmonton.
“Having major events come to town allows them to beat their chests and say, ‘We exist. We’re on the map. Come look at us,”‘ he said.
“But the fact that the hub city will be in Edmonton is no different than whether the hub city would be in Toronto or Vancouver or elsewhere. It’s not going to significantly drive tourism all of a sudden.”
Patrick Rishe, a sports professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said he sees value in showcasing a lesser known Canadian city on broadcast television with “beauty shots” of the locale. He said it may also sit well with NHL executives.
“You never know,” he said. “Doing and serving a good deed for the league now, this could pay dividends down the road.”
Any semblance of a regular hockey season would be welcomed by Dana Parris, owner of the Lockeroom sports bar in Barrie, Ont.
Even though her business is over 100 kilometres away from downtown Toronto, she anticipates the excitement would reverberate to her customers.
“If we could have sports come back and we hit Stage 3 (of Ontario’s COVID reopening plan) around the same time, I will probably stop crying myself to sleep,” she said.
“If those two come together it’s just going to be the most beautiful thing.”
EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers signed defenceman Travis Dermott to a professional tryout on Friday.
Dermott, a 27-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., produced two goals, five assists and 26 penalty minutes in 50 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season.
The six-foot, 202-pound blueliner has also played for the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto drafted him in the second round, 34th overall, of the 2015 NHL draft.
Over seven NHL seasons, Dermott has 16 goals and 46 assists in 329 games while averaging 16:03 in ice time.
Before the NHL, Dermott played two seasons with Oilers captain Connor McDavid for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. The team was coached by current Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results on Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The driver charged with killing NHL hockey player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said Friday.
Gaudreau, 31, and brother Matthew, 29, were killed in Carneys Point, New Jersey, on Aug. 29, the evening before they were set to serve as groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding.
The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of nearby Woodstown, New Jersey, is charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. At a virtual court hearing Friday, a judge ordered that he be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving.
“’You were probably driving like a nut like I always tell you you do. And you don’t listen to me, instead you just yell at me,’” his wife told Higgins when he called her from jail after his arrest, according to First Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Flynn of Salem County.
The defense described Higgins as a married father and law-abiding citizen before the crash.
“He’s an empathetic individual and he’s a loving father of two daughters,” said defense lawyer Matthew Portella. “He’s a good person and he made a horrible decision that night.”
Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said. A prosecutor on Friday said he had been drinking at home after finishing a work call at about 3 p.m., and having an upsetting conversation with his mother about a family matter.
He then had a two-hour phone call with a friend while he drove around in his Jeep with an open container, Flynn said. He had been driving aggressively behind a sedan going just above the 50 mph speed limit, sometimes tailgating, the female driver told police.
When she and the vehicle ahead of her slowed down and veered left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, striking the Gaudreas, the two other drivers told police.
“He indicated he didn’t even see them,” said Superior Court Judge Michael J. Silvanio, who said Higgins’ admitted “impatience” caused two deaths.
Higgins faces up to 20 years, a sentence that the judge said made him a flight risk.
Higgins has a master’s degree, works in finance for an addiction treatment company, and served in combat in Iraq, his lawyers said. However, his wife said he had been drinking regularly since working from home, Flynn said.
Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 10 full seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Columbus Blue Jackets after signing a seven-year, $68 million deal in 2022. He played his first eight seasons with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.
Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. Both women are expecting, and both gave moving eulogies at the double funeral on Monday.
