Curling Hub? Alternate setting a virtual certainty for Scotties and Brier

Curling Canada will likely have to follow the lead of hockey and basketball by using a fan-less hub city approach in order to salvage showcase events like the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and Tim Hortons Brier this season.

Original plans to hold the Scotties in Thunder Bay in February and the Brier in Kelowna in March have been all but officially dashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Curling Canada high-performance director Gerry Peckham says the federation is quote — “definitely getting into the deep end of the pool” regarding the possibility of a hub city concept.

He says it’s arguably the federation’s final card to play at it relates to its more major events.

Curling Canada cancelled the Continental Cup and five other competitions last month. Host cities for those events will host future competitions instead, a plan that would likely be repeated if there are changes to top events like the Scotties and Brier.

There’s no immediate word on potential hub city locations or timing. A Curling Canada spokesman says the federation is still working on a number of different options and hopes to announce something soon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2020.