CARLA ALLEN PHOTO
The monetary amount being asked of the three local municipal units is not being made public at this time because of the competitive nature of the bidding process, said Rick Allwright, group sales manager with the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association and president of the Yarmouth Curling Association.
In a presentation to the Municipality of Argyle at its regular monthly meeting of Jan. 13, Allwright said the mixed nationals – if the Yarmouth area gets them – would be a boost for the local economy at that time of year and might set the stage for bigger curling events to be held here.
The bonspiel would be held in November 2016 but technically would be part of the 2017 curling season, Allwright said.
The plan would be to hold the bonspiel at the Mariners Centre, where Arena 1 would be converted into a curling rink for the event.
Most recently, the mixed nationals were held in North Bay. Other recent hosts have included Ottawa and Mount Royal, Quebec. The next one will be held in Toronto.
There seems to be interest in having it in a different part of the country, Allwright said.
“There is an appetite to move it out of Central Canada,” he said.
The mixed nationals were last held in Nova Scotia in 2002, when Halifax had them. Halifax also had them in 1977, the only other year the event has been held in this province.
After Allwright’s presentation at its Jan. 13 meeting, Argyle council passed a motion to support the bid, agreeing with the request to keep the numbers confidential for now.
“The reason for the confidentiality is competition,” Allwright said, referring to the bidding process.
At this stage, he said, he was seeking a commitment from Argyle to go along with those received from Yarmouth town and municipality. He was looking to submit the bid by the end of the month, he said.
