The Windsor Spitfires are going forward with their bid to host the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
The team tried and failed to win the right to host the 2011 and 2014 tournaments, which would determine the winner of junior hockey's highest prize. Spitfires business development director Steve Horne has no doubt Windsor would be the perfect host.
"We always believed that we were the favourite," says Horne. "We're going to put best package forward that makes it harder for them to say no."
The Spitfires earlier placed themselves in consideration for the event and were informed Wednesday that they would be invited to make a formal presentation to the selection committee.
Windsor lost the 2011 tournament to Mississauga and the 2014 event to London. The Ontario Hockey League hosts the Cup every three years in rotation with the Quebec Major Junior and Western hockey leagues. A successful bid would give the Spitfires an automatic berth in the tournament.
Horne said the selection committee looks at three key points when deciding on a host and is confident Windsor meets them all.
"The quality of the team, the quality of the venue and the infrastructure that the city provides," says Horne. "I think those are the three touch points that we kind of focus around."
Horne says every effort is being made by the Spitfires to learn from past mistakes and they are listening to input from various sources. Mayor Drew Dilkens and Windsor City Council have already pledged support for the bid.
The Spitfires will make their formal presentation in Toronto on April 18 with the winner announced soon after.