Canada bidding for 2013 world championship

[Winnipeg]

Part of me hopes Winnipeg never gets another skating event just so that we can have one of these types of threads every time a skating location announcement is made.

[Winnipeg]

Maybe Winnipeg should get its name changed to Whineypeg.

[kwanfan1818]

Nice v Winnipeg - that must have been a hard decision.

Considering that it looked like Canada's "turn" in 2012 -- six years since Calgary -- Winnipeg's bid might have been weak enough to go back to Europe two years after Torino Worlds. Or Winnipeg might have been a straw man to get the pre-Olympics Worlds after Canada hosted a poorly attended post-Olympics Worlds.

It's not like London is that much bigger an attraction than Winnipeg, but, given how long it had been since a Worlds in Canada, and the unlikely scenario of Canada getting bypassed again, and getting two post-Olympics worlds in a row, it could have been up against any place and won.

[allezfred]

It's not like London is that much bigger an attraction than Winnipeg, but, given how long it had been since a Worlds in Canada, and the unlikely scenario of Canada getting bypassed again, and getting two post-Olympics worlds in a row, it could have been up against any place and won.

Well from what Cinquanta said at the Tokyo Worlds presentation in Torino Canada was the only option for 2013 Worlds. He also hinted at Worlds being rotated between Asia-Europe-North America.

[AragornElessar]

So much for me attending a Worlds in Canada anytime soon.

I love London, the city, but I have a bad feeling about this. The arena's not all that big once you factor in the seats that first ISU and then the Tour Companies will block off for themselves. Unlike a huge arena, such as GM Place in Vancouver, that's not going to leave too many seats left for the rest of the public at the JLC.

Then you've got the Hotels and B&B's to look at. While there's great accomdations in the London area, are there enough? And remember that London's a major Medical Centre and is home to the best Organ Transplant Centre in Canada, if not North America. I know for a fact the hotels in London keep a couple of rooms available for family members of Transplant Patients.

Plus that's the same time that many Med Students are doing the rounds of interviews for possible Internship/Residency Programs out there. Factor in the real possiblity of a major medical conference happening at LHSC the same time as Worlds. If that did end up happening, then the situation could very well look something like this....You've got the ISU blocking rooms, the Skating Tour compainies blocking rooms, and *if* there's also a major Medical Conference!?! Somewhere to stay could be very tough to come by.

I don't have a problem w/London hosting Canadians or Skate Canada, my personal feelings about the JLC aside, as an event that size can be handled well by a city the size of London w/no problems. Worlds though? I just don't know.

I agree w/those saying this smacks of trying to influence a certain Dance Team from the area to stick around. The instance I learned this news yesterday, that was the first thing that came into my mind. Of course no one from SC will be saying anything like that on the record, but I can't believe it wasn't a factor and a big one too for London getting the nod.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but...I've just got a really bad feeling about Worlds in London, Ontario I just can't shake.

[Jackie Sparrow]

Canada hosted a poorly attended post-Olympics Worlds.

But I was there!!!

It's not like London is that much bigger an attraction than Winnipeg,

London is easier to get to.

[lexeoe]

when was the last time a post-Olympic Worlds was well attended since the Olympic champs opted to compete in them?

[allezfred]

when was the last time a post-Olympic Worlds was well attended since the Olympic champs opted to compete in them?

All the evening sessions in Torino were packed.

[Winnipeg]

But I was there!!!

London is easier to get to.

No it isn't...................it's a pain to get to London

[Jenny]

[sk8er1964]

No it isn't...................it's a pain to get to London

Not for me. I just take I-94 to Port Huron, cross the border to Sarnia, and it's just a hop, skip and a jump from there.

[mocha-ice]

Well London is closer to me than Winnipeg, but both of those were low on my list...

London is just not a nice city I found, well at least the part near the arena. I remember it being enjoyable in 2005 for Nats, but I was shocked at the change in 2010 (and not for the better).
It's apparently downtown, but the area around the arena was is not the nicest part of town. I was staying at the hotels near the arena (so maybe 5-10 min walk), and at night I didn't want to walk back by myself. It's a bit sketchy, honestly...

The arena is okay... kind of small honestly and I HATE that you can't walk all the way around. I heard from people working in media that the situation for that was disasterous (aka they had to use space in the hallways for media room).

I'm sure it will sell out no problem, there is a huge fan and volunteer base. I'm sure the event will be great, not sure if I'll go... But really all of the 4 choices had their pros and cons...

[Winnipeg]

Not for me. I just take I-94 to Port Huron, cross the border to Sarnia, and it's just a hop, skip and a jump from there.

Terrible highway/traffic

[William]

Good Afternoon

I have read with interest the posts with respect to the 2013 ISU World Championships being awarded to London, Ontario.

Given the content of some of the posts, I thought I would provide some insight into the manner in which we deal with bids (not just Worlds) at Skate Canada.

First of all, let me say that we received 4 strong bids for hosting Worlds in 2013. Of course, each bid had some different strengths. For those of you from Winnipeg, I would agree that the venue is outstanding and the hotels are convenient. This was a strength of the Winnipeg bid.

In short, and trust me, this is a long and detailed process, essentially what we do is to look at the bids to ensure that the facilities are in place to host the event. We then do a pro forma financial statement for each bid taking into account major costs (eg hotel, venue, transportation) and major revenues (eg ticket sales, local sponsorship, government support). Each of these items can have a material impact on the financial success of the event.

Running events is tricky business these days. It is very easy to lose money on events if costs are not controlled and revenue is not maximized. In general, bigger venues equal higher costs so the trick is putting it in the biggest venue you feel you can sell out. This has the additional benefit of providing a great atmosphere for the athletes as it is much better to skate in front of a full building than one that is half empty.

A major factor in this bid process was ability to sell the venue. We have sold out London on a few occasions including the weekend of this past year’s Canadian championships. This definitely was a factor that assisted London as well as very strong local and government support.

For those of you who want an event in your community, lobby your local politicians and tourism group to submit a strong bid to us. We are happy to go anywhere in our country and do not dislike anywhere. Someone mentioned Whitehorse; I’d love to go there if we got the right bid for the right event.

As for Tessa and Scott, them coming from the London area did not factor in the decision other than perhaps strengthening our ticket sale assumptions.

So, I’m afraid there are not any hidden politics or favouring a particular area. We are really trying to have an open and transparent process that makes our events as successful as possible.

William Thompson
CEO Skate Canada

[skipaway]

Good Afternoon


Given the content of some of the posts, I thought I would provide some insight into the manner in which we deal with bids (not just Worlds) at Skate Canada.

William Thompson
CEO Skate Canada

Thanks for the response

[kimkom]

Thank you for the explanation, Mr. Thompson, it's nice to know Skate Canada is interested in keeping the fans informed.

[made_in_canada]

I'm so going to try to get there... Winnipeg would have been more convenient for me but I'm not surprised London got it. Here's hoping I can afford to buy tickets in the spring!

[jp1andonly]

thank you for explaining things to those who decided they didn't want to listen....

[Parsley Sage]

Thank you Mr Thompson.

The arena is okay... kind of small honestly and I HATE that you can't walk all the way around. I heard from people working in media that the situation for that was disasterous (aka they had to use space in the hallways for media room).

I don't know what it was like in Calgary but in Vancouver in 2001 you couldn't walk all the way around the arena either.

As for the potential for a major medical conference taking place at the same time. The local organizers of such events will know that Worlds is taking place at that time and will more than likely plan accordingly.

[The Accordion]

Thanks to Mr. Thompson for taking the time to write on here and clarify!