REGINA - The worst-kept secret in curling was made official Friday morning.
Moose Jaw was officially announced as the host city for the 2025 BKT Tires World Men’s Curling Championship, happening March 29 to April 6 next year at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Nolan Thiessen, Chief Executive Officer of Curling Canada, made the official announcement at the Viterra International Trade Centre at the Montana’s Brier in Regina.
"It’s always great to come to Saskatchewan. We’ve had amazing events here, we’ve had amazing events in Moose Jaw. This is the first time they’ve put their name forward and made a bid on the world event, and I think it’s going to be so exciting to be here. It’s such a knowledgeable crowd. They understand the game. It’s also really cool as a part of the world curling family. All the teams from all over love coming to Canada, love coming to a place like Moose Jaw because it’s such a big deal, and they feel like rock stars for the week. And so, yeah, we’re just overjoyed.”
The official announcement was widely expected after word leaked out inadvertently of Moose Jaw’s selection earlier in the week. In the Brier Patch on Wednesday night, an emcee had revealed to the crowd the news of Moose Jaw being selected as host city, two days ahead of the official announcement.
That prompted Curling Canada Director of Communication & Media Relations Al Cameron to say at the official announcement Friday: “what goes on in the Original 16 Patch, what is said in the Original 16 Patch, stays in the Original 16 Patch.”
It was noted that this was a competitive bidding process for the Worlds with several cities interested. But the Moose Jaw bid was seen as outstanding.
“Moose Jaw put in such an outstanding bid and it’s a real competitive process, there’s a lot of cities that bid on the events. It’s always full marks for whoever gets it,” said Thiessen.
This is the first time Moose Jaw will host a world men’s championship, but the city has hosted no shortage of major competitions including several in the past few years. Moose Jaw has hosted a Canada Cup and two national Scotties women’s championships in recent years and is due to host the Canadian Wheelchair Curling Championship starting on March 24.
“It’s so exciting for our community,” said Clive Tolley, Mayor of Moose Jaw about the Worlds coming to Moose Jaw. “The hotels are going to be full, the downtown streets are going to be full. The restaurants, bars — it’s going to be a great and exciting event for us.”
Moose Jaw has hosted several major events recently, many of them at the Event Centre. Tolley attributes that success to the proximity to downtown, which he calls a "cozy place, not too far distance to walk."
Tolley said among the things Moose Jaw has going for it is "you can drive to Moose Jaw, park your car, stay in a hotel, walk to the Event Centre walk back to the hotel, go to the restaurant, go to the bar. You don't have to move your car after you get there.… That's what I heard from many many people, it's a great place to have this kind of Ann event where you just park your car, and spend the time moving around the city enjoying the downtown."
Moose Gibson of Curl Moose Jaw said the bid process was a joint process with the Moose Jaw Events Centre and Curl Moose Jaw.
He told reporters they were "super stoked. We’ve had the Canada Cup, we’ve had two Scotties, we’ve had the Canadian Wheelchair Championship, we’re hosting the wheelchair championship again at the end of March. And now we have the top men’s event coming to Moose Jaw. It’s phenomenal."
For the Worlds, tickets will be made available online at curling.ca/tickets and at the Moose Jaw Events Centre box office during regular business hours, and fans are encouraged to get their tickets early.
Single-draw tickets will go on sale in late 2024, or as soon as possible after television and draw schedules have been finalized. Volunteers will also be needed, and that information on how to sign up will be released later as well.
