Oilers and Flames trying to bring 2028 World Cup of Hockey to Alberta
The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames may be staunch rivals on the ice, but they are working together off the ice to bring the World Cup of Hockey to Alberta.
The NHL is now accepting bids from cities across North America and Europe to host the upcoming World Cup in 2028, with a smattering of bids coming from various NHL cities. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, one of the more interesting bids to come through the pipeline was a dual one from both Calgary and Edmonton.
“Why not the 2028 World Cup in Calgary and in Edmonton, an all-Albertan North American host?” Dreger said in Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading. “It makes a lot of sense from a business perspective and, no doubt, the fine people of Calgary want to show off their brand-new building.
“I know that Calgary and Edmonton submitted their bids at the start of this week.”
By the time that event rolls around, Calgary will have the brand-new Scotia Place Arena built and ready to go, while the Alberta capital is already home to the prestigious Rogers Place. Considering the two cities are also just three hours apart, they are ideal hosts for a large event like the World Cup
Dreger also mentioned that other Canadian cities, like Montreal and Vancouver, have also expressed interest in hosting. American bidders mentioned by the NHL insider included Vegas, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.
This version of the World Cup of Hockey is expected to have a total of two host cities for the tournament. The NHL announced back in September that it had narrowed the field down to 25 prospective candidates across North America and Europe.
The two cities selected will host round-robin games together, along with some elimination games. Once the tournament progresses to the semi-finals, all games will be moved to one location.
This wouldn’t be the first time that these two staunch rivals have worked together to host an international event. Edmonton and Calgary have previously worked together as joint hosts for the 2012 IIHF World Juniors Tournament. There is a chance they will do that once again when the World Juniors are scheduled to return to Alberta in 2027.
Edmonton also hosted the WJC tournament alone during the COVID-affected 2021 and 2022 editions.
Nobody expects Oilers and Flames fans to get along with each other, but you can bet that both fanbases would be stoked to have such a big hockey event come to Alberta.