Quebec extends $480,000 for the international NHL tournament in Montreal

Quebec taxpayers will once again contribute to support the performances of National Hockey League (NHL) players, this time in Montreal, in the heart of the hockey season.

The office of the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, confirmed to The Canadian Press that Quebec will indeed provide a sum of $480,000 for the holding, at the Bell Centre, of the first four matches of the 4 Nations Showdown.

This tournament will replace the All-Star Game for the 2024-2025 season. The four Montreal matches will take place from February 12 to 15.

Four other matches followed by the final of this tournament will then take place in Boston.

Difficulties with the financial arrangement

The announcement of the holding of this competition was made in June, but neither Tourisme Montréal nor the NHL had not then reported any government assistance.

In the days preceding the announcement, some sports commentators had mentioned difficulties in the talks to bring the tournament to Montreal, difficulties linked to the financial arrangement, it was said.

The president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, Yves Lalumière, had indeed confirmed that the economic aspectaccording to his expression, was at the heart of the discussions, without however adding details.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the vice-president of destination development for Tourisme Montréal, Manuela Goya, clarified, however, that this is not an amount that will simply be transferred to the NHL. The $480,000 grant is not a direct mechanism for NHL. It is also for the activities of “fan zone” and everything that will be around the event too.

Help “necessary”

Tourisme Montréal carried out significant lobbying with the NHL for this event because for us, it was really an opportunity to showcase Montreal.

When asked if it would have been possible to obtain these four matches without government assistance, the answer comes immediately, without hesitation: No, we were competing with Toronto and other cities.

However, the daily The Pressewhich revealed the existence of this subsidy, claims to have obtained assurances from both the State of Massachusetts and the City of Boston that no public money is involved for the American portion of the tournament.

Manuela Goya is not so sure. It’s very confidential. These things are not said, but there is always a price for everything. Of course they won’t say it, but the financial models are different. Here, the ministry has revealed it, and that’s good, because it’s transparent.

Obviously, the sum of $480,000 pales in comparison to Quebec’s granting of $5 to $7 million to the Los Angeles Kings for the presentation of two preparatory matches in Quebec, but Ms. Goya recognizes that even this kind of amount can make twitch.

However, she assures that it is a good investment. Of course, in absolute terms, $480,000 is a lot. Now we are checking if the subsidy is $480,000, how much are the economic benefits? That means the overnight stays, the restaurants, the people who work, the suppliers and everyone who surrounds this event.

With an estimated 15,000 room nights and the Bell Center filled to almost full capacity, we assume that the benefits will be approximately between $20 and $25 million.

A big absentee

The event will bring into competition the national selections of Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland, four countries presented by Tourisme Montréal, in its press release dated June 9, as the four great hockey nations.

Russia, although a great hockey nation if ever there was one, will therefore be shunned for this tournament. Russia would have had no trouble fielding a squad of 23 players since they have 66 in the NHLincluding the best scorer of the NHL last season, Nikita Kucherov, and the fourth, his compatriot Artemi Panarin, not to mention Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin and one of the best goalkeepers in the league, Andrei Vasilievskiy.