(by Nancy MacPhee)

SUMMERSIDE – There will be little down time for Credit Union Place staff between Bryan Adams’ concert and the Capital One Grand Slam of Curling event.

Adams’ near sold-out concert takes place the night of April 14. Almost as soon as he steps off stage, CUP staff will have to convert the space from a concert venue to a curling rink for the Grand Slam of Curling Players’ Championship.

“The challenging part is that we are going to have to have our ice ready to start building curling ice at 5 a.m. Sunday,” said the city’s event development officer JP Desrosiers. “Typically, shows don’t load out until three in the morning. That’s going to be a really tough timeline for our staff but we’re hoping to get everything underway and everything should go well.”

Desrosiers is confident that the ice will be perfect for the world-class curlers coming to Summerside. The World Curling Players’ Association has enlisted the expertise of renowned icemaker Mark Shurek who has made ice for events such as the Tim Horton’s Canadian Men’s Championship of Curling.

“The thing with this event that makes it different from any other event is that it’s the top-ranked eight men’s and women’s teams in the world,” said Desrosiers. “The matchups are so strong. I think we’re going to see some of the best curling ever played on P.E.I. here.”

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