Sudbury to bid for 2030 Memorial Cup

An undated profile photo of Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre. (File photo/City of Greater Sudbury)

Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre says the idea to bid on his city hosting the Memorial Cup in four years actually started when he was invited to the recent Ontario Hockey League draft in Kingston.

The annual tournament determines Canada’s top major junior champion in a four-team event hosted by the Ontario, Quebec and Western Hockey leagues on a rotating basis

“One of the reasons why I attended with the Sudbury Wolves was originally to put the OHL commissioner and CHL commissioner, the Canadian Hockey League commissioner, on notice that the city of Greater Sudbury as well as the Wolves will be bidding for the 2030 Memorial Cup,” Lefebvre told CTV News July 13.

“The event centre will be complete by then and things are rolling along well, it’s on time, on budget and there’s a lot of momentum happening there.”

While the city has never hosted a Memorial Cup, he said the Sudbury Wolves are one of the pillars of the OHL system and the team is a known brand across the province and country.

“I was there to put them on notice we will be bidding which will be open in 2028 to make sure that they are aware of our bid coming forward,” said Lefebvre.

The new rink is expected to seat 5,800 when completed and Lefebvre said it will meet all the thresholds established by the CHL.

As for the cost to pitch the city to the OHL and CHL, the mayor said the investments made will be returned three, four or five times back to the city calling it a massive return.

Knowing that Sudbury won’t be the lone city to bid for the tournament, Lefebvre says it’s important to get the message out now as several other teams in the OHL are planning major renovations or new builds.

With files from CTV News Northern Ontario journalist Madison Marier