· The Canadian Press)
Curling Canada will likely have to follow the lead of hockey and basketball by using a fan-less hub city approach in order to salvage showcase events like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier this season.
Curling Canada photo
Original plans to hold the Scotties in Thunder Bay, Ont., in February and the Brier in Kelowna, B.C, in March have been all but dashed due to the pandemic.
Gerry Peckham, Curling Canada’s high-performance director, said the federation is “definitely getting into the deep end of the pool” regarding the possibility of a hub city concept.
“In all honesty, I think that is arguably our final card to play as it relates to our more major events,” he said. “So whether that be a Brier, Scotties, worlds, Canadian mixed doubles, Canada Cup, that kind of an array of potential events.
“But if it’s not in a hub city and we can’t get all those boxes checked and all those critical elements organized, then I can’t imagine that there will be a Season of Champions in some other form.”