Newfoundland and Labrador to host Brier for first time in 45 years

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The 2017 Canadian men’s curling championship has been awarded to St. John’s, N.L.

The Tim Hortons Brier will be held March 4-12 at Mile One Centre.

It will be just the second time that St. John’s has hosted the Brier. The Macdonald Brier was staged in the city in 1972. Manitoba’s Orest Meleschuk won the Canadian title that year.

Mile One Centre’s capacity is 7,000. Deposits were made on almost 2,200 event passes, Curling Canada said Monday in a release.

2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue is from St. John’s and has skipped Newfoundland and Labrador at the Brier 12 times.

“As a proud Newfoundlander, this really is a dream come true for all of us,” Gushue said in the statement.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s lone Brier winner was Jack MacDuff in Regina in 1976.

St. John’s beat out a bid from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., which is the home of the Brad Jacobs rink that won Olympic gold in 2014.

The 2016 Brier will be held March 5-13 in Ottawa.