The Dalhousie Tigers are putting together a bid to host the 2013 and 2014 University Cups. But it might never make it to the desks of Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Dalhousie, which two years ago was rebuffed in its attempt to host the 2011 and 2012 men’s hockey tournaments, hopes to have another proposal ready for Friday’s CIS deadline for bids to host national championships.
“We’re putting our bid together, but we still haven’t decided whether we’re going to submit it or not,” said Dal athletic director John MacDonald. “It’s really premature (to discuss). We’re still in the process.”
MacDonald said budget will be the biggest factor in determining whether a bid will be made. Dal’s organizing committee will meet later this week to make a final decision.
Dal’s aggressive push to host the 2011 and 2012 events featured 2,000 pre-sold ticket packages for the Metro Centre.
But the CIS, concerned with fan and volunteer fatigue, didn’t want to overload one city with too many events and instead decided to go with the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Halifax is hosting the 2011 Canada Games and the CIS had already decided to hold the 2011 and 2012 Final 8 men’s basketball championships at the Metro Centre.
Dal’s bid, however, was said to be as strong as anybody’s.
“We were told there was nothing more we could have done,” said Dal spokesman Kevin Tobin at the time.
MacDonald said pre-selling tickets wasn’t considered this time around, especially since you can’t pre-sell tickets to an event you’re not sure you’re going to bid for.
“That’s not forming any part of our (bid),” he said. “We know we have to sell tickets and that’s part of it.”
The New Brunswick Varsity Reds will have hosted the University Cup four times in the past 10 years. The V-Reds and Moncton Aigles Bleus (2007 and 2008) are the only Atlantic University Sport programs to have hosted the event.
The Saint Mary’s Huskies claimed this year’s University Cup in Thunder Bay, Ont.
