Moncton pulls out of 2015 Memorial Cup: could the failed bid be the final push for a new arena?

The 2015 Memorial Cup hosting bids are down to two.

The Chicoutimi Saguenéens and the Quebec Remparts are the teams remaining to host the CHL’s crown jewel tournament after the Wildcats announced they are withdrawing their bid in a classic war with the city of Moncton.

The team attests that they were assured before they placed their bid that the city would provide the Wildcats and the Coliseum an “air makeup system” that would be able to control the temperature inside the building at an acceptable level for hockey in mid-May.

In 2006, the ice conditions and the heat in the building were nearly too much for the fans to handle, and was a bone of contention with the organizing committee. So much so, that the CHL instituted a rule afterward stating that teams had to meet certain air standards in order to host the Memorial Cup. This new legislation keeps Moncton on the outside looking in.

The city had budgeted around $350,000 for a dehumidification system in the aging Coliseum, built in 1972. The estimates for a system to bring the arena to acceptable levels in the eyes of the CHL would be in the $2-million range, and that was just too much for the city.

The city’s mayor also suggested that the Memorial Cup in 2015 would be held close to the 2015 FIFA women’s world cup, where Moncton is hosting four games, and would make budgeting for both events difficult. Irving scoffed that the suggestion, saying it “doesn’t enter the equation”.

Could failed bid lead to new arena?

Robert Irving, the owner of the team, has been pushing the city to build a new, state-of-the-art arena, capable of hosting big events and concerts. The main issues with the Coliseum are a lack of luxury boxes, heating concerns and a low roof.

Irving told the Moncton Times & Transcript Wednesday that he wouldn’t have bid if he knew he wasn’t going to get the dehumidifying system the city said they would provide.

Irving wants the city to build the arena without any financial aid from him, the main and consistent tenant, and the beneficiary of any new arena. He’s also worth more than any municipality in New Brunswick. He could build his own arena himself if he wanted to, but that’s not how the game is played.

Now, with a bid for the 2015 Memorial Cup ruined, seemingly on the hands of the city, will Irving use that as a final push and justification for a new arena?

In 2010, the city and the arena entered into a firefight that nearly escalated into scorched earth. The team was mostly mad of arena availability issues, coming right after they had to play playoff games at the 2,000-seat Aréna J. Louis-Levesque, a cramped and old building on the campus of Université de Moncton. Irving threatened to sell the team if he didn’t get a more favourable deal, and the city was able to accommodate on a three-year deal, which expired this year.

Last month, the team and city have come close to a new deal, though nothing is set in ink and paper. The city is looking into designs for a new centre downtown where the Wildcats and concerts can play, but the funding is still an issue. It seems that with all options on the table, renovating the coliseum isn’t one of them.

With this news, the Memorial Cup hosting fight is up to Chicoutimi and Quebec, and with the Saint John Sea Dogs recently firing its coach in the name of helping their 2017 Memorial Cup bid, where does that leave Moncton in the Memorial Cup hosting fight?

The one sure thing is it got much tougher.

Memorial Cup hosts are expected to brief the league on their presentations in mid-December, and the host for the 2015 Memorial Cup will be announced April 4.