Arenas in the region could take a financial hit as event cancellations continue to pile up across the country due to preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Last week, the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health recommended that any non-essential mass gathering of 150 or more people be cancelled or postponed until it could better determine the risk to the population. This has left big venues in the region cancelling or postponing upcoming events.
At Saint John’s TD Station last Thursday, organizers of the Saint John Home Show postponed its event the day before it was set to begin event due to concerns over COVID-19.
TD Station general manager Mike Caddell says that will be far from the venue’s only postponement, and depending on whether or not events get rescheduled, it could have a big impact on the arena’s bottom line.
“We could be out tens of thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, all depending on what happens and how long this takes place,” said Caddell.
The QMJHL, whose games are a big revenue stream for the arena, also announced this week that all remaining games of the regular season have been cancelled. The Saint John Sea Dogs had two scheduled games left at TD Station, with the anticipation of a playoff run.
The #QMJHL announces that all the remaining games of the 2019-20 schedule have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
— QMJHL (@QMJHL) March 17, 2020
Caddell said every “couple hockey games” bring in “tens of thousands of dollars.”
“At this point, we’re not really sure what the league is going to do,” he said. The QMJHL has not made a decision about playoffs at this point.
What events, including hockey games, get cancelled or rescheduled will become more clear in the coming weeks. But Caddell says TD Station is focusing on rescheduling as many cancelled/postponed events as possible to minimize the financial impact.
“A number have promoters have looked at rescheduling for the fall so we will just see what happens,” he said.
In Moncton, the Avenir Centre has also seen its two major tenants, the Moncton Wildcats hockey team and Moncton Magic basketball team, both postpone their seasons indefinitely. The venue’s next big event isn’t until April 18, so it says it will keep the public informed on any future changes.
“The venue does not have any large scale events planned until [the] Harlem Globetrotters on April 18,” said Avenir Centre general manager Nick DeLuco, in an email to Huddle. “Since this is a fluid situation, circumstances relating to events may change at any time. We will continue to keep the public informed on any changes to currently scheduled events.”
Live Nation, Canada’s largest concert promoter, announced this week that it will be postponing all its shows internationally until the end of the month. Avenir does have Live Nation shows booked, but those shows are not until May. However, James Taylor, who was set to play the Avenir Centre of May 2, announced on his website Sunday that he would be cancelling his Canadian tour.
“Again, this is a fluid situation and may change at any time,” he said. “We will keep the public informed of any changes to currently scheduled programming.”
Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre is also in a similar predicament. The IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship has been cancelled along with other hockey and basketball events scheduled for this month. As of publication, tickets for events taking place in April onwards are still available for purchase.
Caddell says large arenas across the country are dealing with these situations and are feeling the impact.
“Everybody is feeling the pain,” he said.
With files from Brad Perry.
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
