Rocking to a record?
We have the 2005 Brier. Will we have 300,000 seats in the seats? Organizers think a new attendance standard is doable.
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
What they are contemplating is mesmerizing, hypnotising and simply stupefying.
"I think 300,000 is achievable," said Terry Morris of the Edmonton 2005 Brier.
Three hundred thousand. For curling? Get this man a padded room and a white jacket with wraparound sleeves?
Hardly. It can happen.
The number to beat is 248,887. It's bogus. But it's in the books. It's the all-time record attendance figure set by the Saskatoon 2000 Brier.
It's bogus because they counted volunteers, media, janitors, security, concession workers and, apparently, anybody and everybody who set foot in the building.
The real all-time record is 242,887, set the year before in the Last Shootout of the Century Edmonton Brier.
Rightfully regaining the record is as good as guaranteed. There should be every expectation to put up a number that will leave the City of Champions - home of the three-in-a-row Brier-champion Randy Ferbey rink - the unquestioned new Canadian capital of curling.
The acquisition of the 2005 Brier isn't the story. It's not even news. But the projections and predictions of 300,000 for this, to ridicule the sport of curling, is something else again.
CHOSE HIS WORDS CAREFULLY
When CCA president Don Petlak made the announcement yesterday, he chose his words carefully. "I'm very pleased to confirm Edmonton will stage the 2005 Brier," he said.
It was first revealed on these pages that the 2005 Brier would be here before the Edmonton 1999 Brier was over and on an annual basis ever since.
"This was the worst-kept secret in the history of curling," local organizing committee chairman Terry Morris told the press conference.
Morris says this will be bigger than any Brier ever staged, for a multitude of reasons. And CCA Brier boss Warren Hansen says he doesn't doubt it for a single second.
"I believe it will be the biggest one ever. There is no reason it won't be."
Hansen promises there will be no bogus new record coming out of the 2004 Saskatoon Brier, where they're likely to fill the 11,500-seat arena for several draws.
"Prior to Saskatoon 2000 we had no set standard for keeping records. Now we have a criteria. You can't count volunteers. You can't count media ..."
There's a long list of very real reasons why the March 5-13 Edmonton 2005 Brier should be expected to put up a number that should stun the world of sports.
Morris and his committee is one reason.
They're not trying to reinvent the wheel.
They've done this before. They know what they did right. They know what they did wrong.
"A lot of the groundwork and learning-curve stuff is already in the books and our heads," said returning committee member Darwin Daviduk.
"We all have an excellent working relationship with Warren Hansen. There are no new relationships that have to be created.
"The big thing is that in 1999 the community really enjoyed the Brier experience. It left such a good taste in everybody's mouths, everybody has been waiting for it to come back. And that includes most of the base of the 1,000 volunteers."
Morris says one area where the 1999 committee didn't get it done, will be a different story this time around.
"We know we can improve in a number of areas. One is corporate sales. We know we didn't do the best job there. In 1999 we started late. There are a lot of things we can do with group sales in the community and around the province."
Which brings up the key component.
It's Alberta's Centennial.
PROMISES, PROMISES
King Ralph has promised to provide perks to promote the party. Organizers hope to sell Alberta's government on providing transportation from around the province to bring in senior citizens and students to attend the harder-to-sell morning and midweek afternoon draws as part of the Centennial celebrations.
Then there is the party itself.
Edmonton sold 190,000 drink tokens to beat the record of 160,000, in 1999 at the Brier Patch in the Sportex.
In the past couple of years they've experimented with an alternate patch, called the Purple Heart Lounge, focusing on the older crowd, which will be taken to another level here.
"The Brier Patch will be a similar setup in the SportEx and the Purple Heart Lounge will be in the AgriCom," said Hansen. "There will be more entertainment at the Edmonton 2005 Brier than any Brier in history - by a bunch."
And if Randy Ferbey and rink are in it and may be going for five-in-a-row ...
"We'd love to have those guys as poster boys for this Brier," said Morris.
And the No. 1 reason why he could be right and the Edmonton 2005 Brier could draw a mind-boggling 300,000?
No hockey season. The NHL is expected by almost everyone involved to shut down for the entire 2004-05 season.
Think about it.
