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| Shea Weber holds 2004 Memorial Cup |
A long track record of success and a long-time owner who champions for the Western Hockey League are some of the reasons why the
Kelowna Rockets were in the winners circle Wednesday when it was announced the
2020 Memorial Cup is coming to the Okanagan. The 10 day tournament was lasted
hosted here in 2004. The Rockets beat out bids from Lethbridge and Kamloops to host
the prestigious event, with chairman Tom Dyas all smiles once WHL Commissioner
Ron Robison made it official at an afternoon news conference.
Details are few and
far between on what financial guarantee was proposed by all three parties had
they hosted, but the talk heading into the voting was money wasn’t the deciding factor on governors choosing one bid over the other.
When the tournament is
held in 2020, it will mark 25 seasons in which the team has been in Kelowna. It relocated
from Tacoma, Washington for the start of the 1995-1996 season.
The Rockets are now guaranteed a sixth birth
at the Memorial Cup, with previous appearances in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 and
again in 2015.
Previous to Kelowna,
both Saskatoon and Regina have hosted the tournament twice when the major junior hockey showcase has been held in Western Canada .
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