CHL president MacKenzie discusses Kelowna’s successful 2026 Memorial Cup bid
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Earlier this week it was announced that the Kelowna Rockets will host the 2026 Memorial Cup.
“They are on the cusp of getting a bunch of new renovations so now the building is going to look fantastic for the event,” CHL president Dan MacKenzie said. “You combine that with the elements of the community spirit, the theme they came forward with, the legacy they are going to leave, the beauty of Kelowna as a city and as a market to host the CHL world in 2026, the feeling is that it’s going to be [one of] the best Memorial Cups ever.”
The Rockets were set to host the CHL’s flagship event in 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic ultimately cancelled that event.
“Kelowna having the opportunity at the next point they were ready to bid … they probably view it as very gratifying but there were no gimmies here,” MacKenzie said. “It was very much a competitive process and they had to win it and they did just that.”
