Regina mayor in favour of hosting WHL hub

If the WHL drops the puck in a hub city this year, Regina Mayor Sandra Masters wants it to happen in the Queen City.

“The City of Regina has a long and storied history as it relates to WHL and hockey in general in our cultural and economic landscape, but in terms of being able to providing food services and space in hotel to create those bubbles, it would help our hospitality industry,” Masters said, noting she has written a letter in support of the idea to WHL Commissioner Ron Robison.

“If we can get it approved by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and (the WHL has) a plan in place that meets with SHA approval, I would be in favour of it.”

She said Regina would make a great place for a hub city due to the facilities it has at its disposal – including the Brandt Centre and the Co-operators Centre – and has the hotel services needed to house the teams as well as the ability to provide food services for all the players.

“The idea of being a hub city or a bubble at Evraz (Place) has been talked about numerous times during the pandemic. Should a plan be approved, (Evraz Place staff) think they can apply that service and safe measures to actually host it there.”

The hub city would include all five of the Saskatchewan WHL teams (the Regina Pats, Prince Albert Raiders, Moose Jaw Warriors, Saskatoon Blades and Swift Current Broncos) and the two Manitoba teams (the Winnipeg Ice and Brandon Wheat Kings).

While Masters has been in talks with the SHA, she doesn’t know if a decision has been made yet.

Masters also isn’t concerned about safety when it comes to the bubble.

“I’m going to trust that people are going to be safe,” she said. “I think if athletes want to perform, they’re going to be exceptionally careful with what they need to do in order not to violate the principles of any plan that’s formed.

“I think overall there’s a shadow of concern relative to COVID that we all have that personal responsibility for, so I suspect if athletes want to compete, they’ll be especially careful.”

The province confirmed the WHL has submitted a proposal and active discussions are continuing to determine if the league can go ahead with a season.

The league cancelled the 2019-20 season in March and then postponed the start of the ’20-21 campaign due to COVID.

On Jan. 8, the WHL announced it was committed to playing a 2021 season, but was waiting to announce a start date until getting approval from health officials in the provinces and states in which the league’s teams are based.

“The WHL does not have approval to return to play in Saskatchewan at this time,” the league said in a media release. “We remain in ongoing discussions with government and health authorities in Saskatchewan.”