Disappointed, but undaunted.
That pretty much sums up the news the 2020 Canadian men’s curling championship brier has been awarded to Kingston, Ontario.
In June, the city submitted a bid to host the 2020 Brier at the CN Centre from February 29 to March 8, 2020. The bid was presented in partnership by Tourism PG, the City of Prince George, and the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
“While we’re disappointed with the decision from Curling Canada, we’re encouraged by the support our bid received locally and from all over northern BC,” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “More than 2,400 people bought ticket deposits and they weren’t all from Prince George. In fact, residents of 15 communities from 150 Mile House to Terrace also bought tickets and demonstrated how this bid has really been well-received by the whole region. I would also like to express appreciation to the Government of BC for supporting our application to bring the Brier to BC and to Prince George.”
The big included a four-month long ticket pre-sale campaign which encouraged residents and curling fans to purchase $20.20 deposits toward event tickets should the bid be successful. The bid committee’s goal was to secure 2020 pre-sales, which they exceeded for a total of 2417. Everyone who purchased tickets will be refunded their money in full at the point of purchase (see details below).
“Despite the fact that we are disappointed with this, we still have some tremendous events that are taking place in 2019,” he said, citing the ParaNordic Games and the Pan-American Volleyball championships and the B.C. Summer Games in 2022. “There are a multitude of things that are happening and we continue to go after.”
CN Centre manager Glen Mikkelsen said the feedback they received from Curling Canada was that the facilities in Prince George were “superlative,” and the city can certainly host the event.
“We look forward to seeing what opportunities may come up in the future,” he said.
The bid cost about $10,000 and came out of Tourism Prince George’s budget and submitting another bid is certainly in the cards.
“After the 2015 Canada Winter Games I had said to council that we want to continue to build on this momentum and building the 2015 Games,” said Hall. “If we can put on the 2015 Canada Winter Games, we can host whatever is out there that we choose to go after. I’d certainly like to see us go after the Brier again.”
Presale Refund Information
Credit Card purchases:
Customers who purchased their 2020 Brier Bid deposit with a credit card will have the deposit price automatically reversed beginning Monday, November 05, 2018. Please be advised credit card refunds can take between 5-10 days to post. Please contact the TicketsNorth Box Office (at the CN Centre) at BoxOffice@ticketsnorth.ca if a credit card refund has not occurred by Wednesday, November 21.
Cash or Debit purchases:
Customers who purchased 2020 Brier Bid deposits using cash or a debit card at the TicketsNorth Box Office (at the CN Centre) can return to the TicketsNorth Box Office (at the CN Centre) ONLY for a refund no sooner than Monday, November 05 at 10:00 a.m. Only the purchaser of the 2020 Brier Bid deposit, with valid photo ID, may receive the refund in the form of the original payment method. The TicketsNorth Box Office (at the CN Centre) is open Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 5:30pm and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Please note: Refunds must be completed by Friday, November 30, 2018, end of business day.
