Disappointment in Moncton as Wildcats lose bid to host 2019 Memorial Cup

It wasn't the outcome the Moncton Wildcats were hoping for as the Halifax Mooseheads were awarded the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament.

The announcement Thursday afternoon was especially disappointing since the Moncton team moves into its new home, the Downtown Events Centre, this fall and put a lot of effort into the bid for the Canadian junior hockey tournament.

Halifax, which held the Memorial Cup in 2000, and Moncton, the host in 2006, were the only two cities in the contest for the tournament. 

Gilles Courteau, the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and a non-voting member, said it was a tough decision.

"Both bids were outstanding, first-class bids," he said.

"They were well-prepared, good-quality people, good-quality organization, but at the end, the selection committee came up with the Halifax Mooseheads as the winner of the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament," Corteau said.

Ryan Jenner, the director of business operations for the Wildcats, said he's disappointed.

"When you put that amount of work into something and you don't get the result you're looking for it's disappointing," he said.

Jenner said the Wildcats' bid for the event included more than hockey.

"We had a very big vision we put forward" he said. "It centred around the hockey tournament, but it had a lot of other components to it that involved all kinds of different people and different groups. We had a big vision."

Mayor Dawn Arnold, who was on her way out of town, issued a statement congratulating the Halifax Mooseheads.

"While it's not the outcome we wanted, we know that the Moncton Wildcats Organization submitted a high-quality bid, and our entire community should be proud of these efforts," she wrote.

Coun. Greg Turner, a former downtown business owner, said the Memorial Cup is a premier sporting event in Canada and could have had a great impact on local businesses.

"It covers over 10 days, so it would have a tremendous effect," Turner said. "So that's one of the main reasons we really looked at putting this event in downtown Moncton, close to the hotels and the restaurants and the retail in our city, along with the transportation hub that we are."

Moncton also lost the bid for the 2019 Briar, which also would have been held in the new events centre.

Turner said "minor setbacks" are learning experiences.

"The Briar committee is working very hard on 2020," he said. "They have brought in some more people on the team, have expanded it. We're looking at different ways we can improve … as they say, if at first you don't succeed try, try again.

"And that's our whole motto here."

Jenner said the Moncton Wildcats still have high hopes of hosting the Memorial Cup someday.

"To win the Memorial Cup continues to be our goal and, you know, I would expect that when the opportunity arises we'll jump on it," Jenner said.