The first truly big hockey event for Affinity Place is over. The venue, and the city as a whole, passed with flying colours.
The Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup was an unquestioned success in most areas. It would have been nice if the host CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins could have won a game or two, and made it into the playoffs, but nobody could complain about the caliber of hockey during the Bruin games or the other games during the tournament.
We don鈥檛 know if the tournament will make money, but the early signs for profitability look encouraging.
It鈥檚 the first of two marquee sporting events that Affinity will host this year. The other, of course, is the 2016 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
While the Summer Games will utilize a lot more than just Affinity Place, our events centre will be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as some of the basketball games.
We look forward to seeing the expression on the faces of the athletes, coaches and the other out-of-town visitors when they enter the building for the first time, and see how bright, spacious and well-designed it really is.
We look forward to the wow factor Affinity Place will generate. And we hope it will be love at first sight.
The Western Canada Cup gave us a chance to fall in love with Affinity Place all over again. The Bruins deserve a lot of credit for the enhancements they made to the arena this year, with the championship banners at the east end, and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame banners at the front entrance of the building. They served as a reminder of the team鈥檚 rich history.
And the team photos on the north side of the building allowed people to see some of the great players who have played for the Black and Gold.
We want to see as many marquee events at Affinity Place as possible. Obviously people need to consider the strain such events place on volunteers and city staff, but when you have one of the top facilities of its kind in the country, it should be used to its potential.
People are already clamouring for Estevan to host the RBC Cup national junior A hockey tournament. Events like the World Junior A Hockey Challenge and the Western Canadian Bantam Championship would be good options for Affinity.
And these sporting events can extend beyond hockey. We already mentioned the upcoming Saskatchewan Summer Games.
The Estevan Curling Club is bidding for the 2018 SaskTel Men鈥檚 Tankard provincial curling championship. Affinity Place would be used if the bid is successful.聽 Other top provincial or even national curling events would look good there.
Hopefully the Western Canada Cup is a launching pad for future exciting sporting events at Affinity Place.
