2014 Juno Awards - Victoria bid

[VicHockeyFan]

March 7th, 2012

The deadline for Victoria to submit a bid for the 2014 Junos is today and the provincial government says it is willing to help -- provided certain financial conditions are met.

BC Liberal Cabinet Minister and Victoria area MLA Ida Chong says the province is first looking for a commitment from local governments.

http://cfax1070.com/index.php?option...ews&Itemid=155

[Bob Fugger]

I feel a little guilty that my initial (purely emotional) reaction is that this proposal fail miserably. But then, would I be one of "those guys" who cheers for the City to fail? I think my fear is that if we win, the powers that be might see it as validation for keeping the status quo of disjointed, bloated, over-governed little polities that make up Greater Victoria.

[VicHockeyFan]

Here's one strange (is it strange?) thing.

If I make sure Google is set not to give any regional priority, and I search "Juno bid 2014", all I find is Victoria articles, dozens of them.

So I'm not sure we are "bidding" against anyone else, unless someone somewhere is doing their organizing in secret.

[Holden West]

^That's an interesting observation. You'd be foolish to spend hard cash on a bid without community support and media interest and your unscientific experiment suggests we are in a one horse race.

the powers that be might see it as validation for keeping the status quo of disjointed, bloated, over-governed little polities that make up Greater Victoria.

I think the co-operation needed to pull this off would be a step forward.

[Hotel Mike]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

So I'm not sure we are "bidding" against anyone else, unless someone somewhere is doing their organizing in secret.

I think the thing is, that Victoria is bidding to convince CARAS, that this city is big enough to host the event successfully. The Junos can always be held in one of the major markets.

[Bob Fugger]

Originally Posted by Hotel Mike

I think the thing is, that Victoria is bidding to convince CARAS, that this city is big enough to host the event successfully. The Junos can always be held in one of the major markets.

Both St. John's and Regina have hosted it, both of whom have smaller metropolitan areas than Victoria.

[Holden West]

Venue size also makes a difference. SOFMC is slightly larger than Regina's arena so that's good but it's still smaller than CARAS would like.

What CRD venue has the second largest seating capacity?

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by Holden West

Venue size also makes a difference. SOFMC is slightly larger than Regina's arena so that's good but it's still smaller than CARAS would like.

What CRD venue has the second largest seating capacity?

It's been in St. John's twice (2002/10), in a rink with 1000 seats less than ours, and I'm sure without another rink of 2300 (Bear Mountain) nearby, and a facility like the 1400-seat Royal nearby.

It's easy to do here.

[aastra]

The Junos can always be held in one of the major markets.

A major market like Winnipeg, Halifax, Regina, Saskatoon, St. John's, or Hamilton... is Victoria really ready to join that elite list?

Give me a break. If Kelowna was planning to host these silly awards, Victorians wouldn't even think twice about it.

[VicHockeyFan]

OK, I received some info from Chris Coleman today.

Then I also found this, from April 12:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/146199815.html

Because of the competitive nature of the bid, exact numbers aren’t being released. Winnipeg and Calgary may also be submitting bids, Coleman said.

Coleman says they submitted a 125-page technical document today. He thinks it's pretty solid.

[Mike K.]

Central Saanich councillor Carl Jensen wants to hear from CS taxpayers if the municipality should contribute to the City of Victoria's bid for the 2014 Junos.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by CarlonCouncil

...Should CS provide financial support towards the Victoria bid to host the Juno Awards? Yes or No...

If the majority say No, then if any CS residents choose to attend the event (assuming a successful CRD bid) they should have to pay a premium for tickets, since as a CoV taxpayer, I have already underwritten the cost of the event. Of course I feel the same way about the Johnson Street Bridge, but that's another matter entirely.

[VicHockeyFan]

Many businesses that operate in Victoria have employees that live in Central Saanich, or Metchosin. Or even business OWNERS that have commercial interests downtown.

Look, there is not an industry umbrella organization that can quickly bring together all the players for a single event like this. If it was an annual event, then a private-sector industry group could figure out how to run and fund this every year with corporate sponsors, buy-in from hotels and venues etc. But it's a one-off, organized quite quickly. So the province, and yes the municipalities, should get together and fund this, then they get it back and more in hotel room taxes, HST on purchases, income tax on the workers extra hours etc. Once we secure the bid, then I'm sure organizers will go get some sponsors for what they can, within CARAS rules, as they likely already have some corporate deals we can't trump.

It's important to note that this event brings in dollars from other parts of the country, so it has greater value than say, a Canada Day fireworks show, or entertainers on the Leg lawn on Canada Day, or Symphony Splash. Real people from other parts of the country fly here for the big events, and arrive days early for the other stuff going on that week. It's not just fans for the big show, but all the support crews for the telecast, and all the industry types that come here with decent expense allowances for the week.

So, I hesitate to compare this to the Olympics, because A) we don't need to build expensive infrastructure to do this, and B) we don't have the big security budget an Olympics brings, and C) there is not a big disruption to the public during the event. But, like the Olympics, it brings in OUTSIDE dollars that would not come here otherwise, and it brings them in in the shoulder season (hotel rooms packed in March/April!), so it provides extra hours for hotel and hospitality workers that would not normally see the extra cash at this time of year.

I'm the first guy to call BS when an arts group says that their $15,000 grant gets multiplied 7x or whatever because they get it back in ticket sales taxes or whatever. I call BS because I say that discretionary spending by locals will happen anyway, whether Blue Bridge has a show running, or instead of going to a show, the public attends White Spot for a meal with that same entertainment dollar. But this event brings in money from outside the community, there is no doubt about that. For this reason, the municipalities ought to kick in.

[sdwright.vic]

Originally Posted by Nparker

If the majority say No, then if any CS residents choose to attend the event (assuming a successful CRD bid) they should have to pay a premium for tickets, since as a CoV taxpayer, I have already underwritten the cost of the event. Of course I feel the same way about the Johnson Street Bridge, but that's another matter entirely.

Love it! And agree! You don't want to play with you neighbors then don't come to there park. Stay in your own darn yard then.

[LJ]

CFAX poll shows over 70% don't want to pony up for the JUNO's.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by LJ

CFAX poll shows over 70% don't want to pony up for the JUNO's.

That sort of public sentiment will not sit well with the committee adjudicating Victoria's bid.

[VicHockeyFan]

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to look over the bid package today with Chris Coleman.

It's very impressive. 125 pages.

About 1/3 to one half of it is copies of letters from various community leaders, politicians, business owners etc. expressing specific support. For example it has a letter from Dave Dakers of RG saying what weeks they are happy to offer up the arena for.

The other part of it is detailed floor plans and specifications for SOFMC, Bear Mtn. arena, the conference centre etc., and then specifics on transportation infrastructure, ferry schedules, hotels and their room numbers and rates etc.

So that's all stuff that we might already know, and take for granted, but it's really vital to get across to CARAS to show them we are well-suited.

It's nice to see it all laid out like that. When I first heard it was 125 pages, I thought "what the heck can they ramble on about for 125 pages?" but I can see now it all makes sense.

[spanky123]

This is really a commercial venture with the bulk if not all of the benefits going to business and a few select individuals. I don't buy that it benefits the greater community as a whole in a meaningful enough way that it warrants public funding. No doubt that hotels, restaurants and the various venues around town were happy to submit a letter of reference; along with their rate guides!

If the various levels of Government suddenly felt that they had an extra million bucks burning a hole in their entertainment pockets, I would far rather see the money spent on a sustainable initiative in the local community.

[Hotel Mike]

If the various levels of Government suddenly felt that they had an extra million bucks burning a hole in their entertainment pockets, I would far rather see the money spent on a sustainable initiative in the local community.

As Bob Marley says, spanky, "lighten up yourself, and don't be no drag".

There are many intangible benefits. How about many Victorians being exposed to new music, Canadian at that? Might you not get turned on to some music you haven't heard before? What's it worth to have the stories and publicity coming from Victoria? How many of the music journalists in town won't want to stay and file other stories...such as local bands.

Sometimes "fun" costs a bit. I don't think it's burning a hole in any pockets.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by Hotel Mike

Sometimes "fun" costs a bit...

Case in point: it took 500 million tax dollars to make BC Place stadium fun again.

[G-Man]

The bit that gets me is that Victoria even has to submit a "bid" I mean its the freakin Junos. It puts Victoria on the Canada map for a day or two but I bet we get more out of the Antiques Roadshow coming to town.

[Mike K.]

We've lost Blues Fest, Jazz Fest ain't what it used to be, no more Latin Caribbean fest, no more Cinco de Mayo, Folk Fest is long gone, and even Canada Day festivities are a far cry from what they used to be (and that's on the years we even have them).

Despite being larger in population and the recent talk of being "cosmopolitan" (the Olde England bit thankfully [finally] went the way of the horse drawn carriage) by local tourism pushers, we're probably at par with a place like Nanaimo in terms of our festival culture (and who knows, Nanaimo might even have us beat). And you wouldn't know Victoria was celebrating it's 150th year as a city this year if you didn't look at the odd banner around town. Most cities would be planning a blitz worthy of a sesquicentennial but no, not us, because we have ...wait for it ...Busker Fest!*

The Junos are what this region needs even if it'll be a one-time gig.

*Yes, I'm aware we're the home of Rifflandia and most recently Vic Fest. Thank God for that.

[G-Man]

You wouldn't know it was the 150th because it really is the 169th year of the founding of the city. Arbitrary dates detract from the importance.

[Bingo]

According to the list of Victoria 150 Arts, Cultural and Community Events, "Busker Fest" is one of many events planned.

http://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/depar...ty-events.html

[Mike K.]

With events like Saga of the Salty Seas and Artistic Renderings of Heritage Trees we'll really be on our way to the big times