Lethbridge, AB – Curling Canada was looking forward to a great Brier in Lethbridge and the city hasn’t disappointed.
Nolan Thiessen is the organization’s Executive Director of Marketing and Fan Experience. He says the event has been welcome return to normalcy. “We’ve opened, the fans are coming, and we are expecting a great end to the week here.”
There are two Alberta teams at The Brier, and both are doing well so far. “Team Canada and Team Alberta are off to great starts. Friday will be the real determining factor, but they are in the mix.” Thiessen has previously told us that having a provincial flavour come playoff time would be a big boost for ticket sales. “We should have a good walk-up crowd and we have Championship Weekend packages which are big sellers and often our best travel packages, so we are sure to have a big influx of people on Friday.”
As for off the ice festivities, Thiessen says ‘The Brier Patch’ has done well. “The opening weekend had a few pretty good nights in there and even Sunday and Monday we had quite a few people heading over there. On Saturday we had a great crowd, and it was like wow, it feels different to see so many people in one place.” He adds the event has a feel that it had before the pandemic. “This is an area of the world we often come to, and the curling fans are starting to come back for sure.”
Thiessen says the fantastic live coverage from TSN and the presence of the one and only Vic Reuter sure adds to the event. “He got here on Monday, and everyone was excited to have him back. They do a great job, and they are a great partner. It definitely adds to the mystique.”