2027 World Juniors: Red Deer’s second shot at showcasing community on the international stage

Red Deer first hosted the tournament in 1995, where Canada won the gold medal with an undefeated record.

They were then supposed to co-host the tournament in 2021 with Edmonton, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of the games were moved to Edmonton.

Jefferies said that was a disappointing result, but this time around, she expects everyone will come together and recognize how much they missed it when it was no longer here.

It gives Red Deer a second shot to showcase its community on the international stage.

“I think there’ll be great excitement, and as you know, we are big hockey fans in this community. It will really be something to look forward to and to celebrate,” she said.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to showcase our community to host so many international guests… I think Red Deer shines in the role of hosts, and Red Deerians roll out the welcome mat and really go out of their way to make the experience in Red Deer second to none.”

Red Deer can expect approximately $3.0 million in visitor spending and over 4,000 out-of-town visitors during the tournament.

She expects it to have a great impact on the community financially, whether you’re in the restaurant, hotel, or transportation businesses.

“It’s also the things that come from those visits. People seeing Red Deer and recognizing the potential here, it’s just a great opportunity to showcase and build on what we’ve got going,” Jefferies added.

“We look forward to many more opportunities to invite others in.”

Throughout the 11-day tournament, Red Deer will host 14 games at the Centrium at Westerner Park and Edmonton’s Rogers Place will serve as the primary host for 17 games, including both semifinals and the gold and bronze medal matchups.

The bid was put together through a partnership between OEG Sports & Entertainment, the Red Deer Rebels, Hockey Alberta, the cities of Edmonton and Red Deer, and the Government of Alberta. In February 2024, the province invested $11 million to host events in communities throughout Alberta.

It’s unknown if the City of Red Deer contributed any funds to the event, but Jefferies said the city steps up when asked to contribute to these types of events through Tourism Alberta.

Jesse Smith, CEO of Tourism Red Deer, said when the province announced in 2024 that the event would be coming back to Alberta, he began working with Hockey Canada to potentially have the event in Red Deer.

This was meant to encourage Hockey Canada to consider choosing Red Deer as a host.

“We worked closely with the Red Deer Rebels, Westerner Park, and with Hockey Canada to set the wheels in motion,” Smith said, adding that conversations began in late 2024.

“It has taken a couple of years of relationship building and working with our community partners and Hockey Canada to get this event back to Red Deer and come to fruition.”

In the wake of losing the tournament back in 2021, Red Deer was awarded the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, which was a success.

However, Smith said the world juniors returning to town certainly isn’t an act of charity but rather because of Red Deer’s known ability to host big events, especially in the sports world.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to do this again. Like I said, to start, we didn’t get the full opportunity to showcase our destination in 2022 because of the pandemic,” Smith said. “This will be an opportunity for us to put our best foot forward and showcase why Red Deer is a major event destination and what else we can bring to the region in years to come.”

by Ian Gustafson

2027 World Juniors: Red Deer’s second shot at showcasing community on the international stage

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