Tank: After Junos debacle, Saskatoon chases a similar event

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Five years ago, the StarPhoenix ran a story per day in February on the looming Juno Awards that included a daily countdown.

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The last countdown was published on March 12 with three days remaining before the Junos ceremony was supposed to take place at SaskTel Centre.

The pending celebration of Canadian music was cancelled that same day as the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic torpedoed the event and the $9 million expected to be injected into Saskatoon’s economy.

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On Wednesday, Saskatoon city council approved using $500,000 from a reserve fund for a mystery event in 2026 that sounds like the Canadian Country Music Awards based on the descriptions in a city report.

One wonders about all the secrecy — reportedly due to some sort of confidentiality agreement — when you’re essentially spelling out what you’re talking about to anyone who conducts a quick Internet search. The CCMA ceremony is held in September, the same month as the supposedly mysterious event.

Regardless, the CCMAs represent a step below the Junos, even though an economic impact of at least $15 million is expected, which is higher than the Junos were expected to deliver five years ago.

Saskatoon last hosted the CCMAs in 2017, five years after it previously hosted the celebration of Canadian country music.

But so much has changed since then, Discover Saskatoon CEO Steph Clovechok explained to city council this week as she outlined the bid for the event.

The landscape for hosting these national-profile events “has dramatically shifted,” she said. “That dramatic shift will never return to the way it once was.”

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Essentially, the costs for staging such events has tripled in the last few years, Clovechok said. Discover Saskatoon has also asked the province for $1 million to help stage the music awards show.

But Clovechok warned that in the current environment, Saskatoon is “not competitive.”

That will hit hard at the psyche of Saskatoon, which had established itself as a mid-sized city with a reputation as a terrific host for big events. But that was before the pandemic and the inflation that followed.

Clovechok spoke of “reinforcing our credibility” as a reliable landing spot for major events. Saskatoon may well be suffering from an identity crisis with so much change thrust upon us from the pandemic.

The festivals that once defined Saskatoon in the summer have either relocated, downsized or disappeared entirely.

The last major event Saskatoon hosted was the Olympic curling trials in 2021, which took place with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, but still generated $12.7 million in economic activity for Saskatoon and $14 million for the province.

With the Junos debacle in 2020, 18 years have now passed since Saskatoon last hosted that event. Vancouver has hosted the Junos twice in that stretch, and hosts again this spring.

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Saskatoon last hosted the Brier 13 years ago. Since then, Regina has hosted the curling championship twice, including last year. Kelowna hosts this year.

Fifteen years have passed since Saskatoon, along with Regina, hosted the World Junior Hockey Championships, and Saskatoon last staged the Memorial Cup tournament 12 years ago.

Two years ago, Saskatoon and Regina teamed up for a bid for the most recent world juniors, which was lost to Ottawa and turned out as a showcase for a massively disappointing performance by Canada’s team.

But it seems fair to say that Saskatoon’s recent record on attracting the big events that helped establish its reputation and identity can be considered pretty disappointing, too.

The remote location of Saskatoon’s arena and events centre has always presented an impediment to these big events since that desolate spot makes it difficult to establish a critical mass and a focal point for gathering/celebrations.

Sparse flights, a relatively small population — even though Saskatoon is now well above 300,000 people — and a frigid winter add barriers.

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So winning this bid and successfully hosting an event that will bring national attention to the Paris of the Prairies appears essential to re-establishing Saskatoon as a small city with the ability to stage big shows.

Phil Tank is the digital opinion editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.

[email protected]

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