Alberta premier: Edmonton 'safest place in the continent' to host NHL
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Oilers Entertainment Group, the city of Edmonton, and the province of Alberta have made a joint bid to become an NHL hub city if the 2019-20 season resumes, Alberta premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday, according to Global News' Scott Johnston.
While making his pitch to a group of reporters, Kenney dubbed Edmonton the "safest place in the continent" to host the NHL playoffs due to the city's low number of COVID-19 cases.
"We're down to (58) active cases in this population in Greater Edmonton of 1.2 million people, and a handful of people in hospital with hundreds of acute care beds that have been set aside for COVID(-19) patients, together with the highest per capita testing in North America, if not the world," Kenney said.
Additionally, Kenney believes Edmonton would be a top choice based on logistics.
"We've got one of the best facilities, I would say the best facility, with the brand new Rogers Place arena," he said.
Rogers Place, the Oilers' state-of-the-art arena, opened in 2016. It features several dressing rooms, an in-house practice rink, and an attached 364-room luxury JW Marriot Hotel. OEG vice president Tim Shipton said there are enough rooms for 12 teams and their support staff in the immediate downtown area.
Edmonton mayor Don Iveson, who tweeted out his letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Tuesday, agrees.
"In addition, the city of Edmonton is working closely with OEG on an agreement to use our high-quality civic recreational facilities, currently closed to Edmontonians during the pandemic, where NHL teams could practice and train safely while in Edmonton," Iveson wrote in his letter.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday that the league is evaluating eight or nine potential hub cities that could host about a dozen teams in one location.
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