The Stanley Cup winners will be in the record books, but the puck will be ready to drop in mid-June in Comox when the 2011 Comox Cup moves to its new downtown location.
The annual hockey event will shift locations to attract a larger, more family-friendly crowd, while capitalizing on the another major Comox event — the Comox Valley Shellfish Festival, explained organizer Dawn Stevens in front of Comox council Wednesday.
The hockey tournament, scheduled for June 17 to 19 on Comox Avenue from Port Augusta Street to the Comox Dental Centre, is billing itself as a major downtown event, with Comox Avenue closed for the entire weekend.
Stevens addressed some of the concerns about the tournament's new location to council and staff.
"One of the major concerns is traffic and traffic flow with closing down a large section of Comox Avenue. It is going to create some disruptions, especially with the Shellfish Festival going on at the same time, but we want to make it go as smoothly as possible," she said.
There will be people directing drivers to each event at various locations, Stevens added, along with road closures notification in the media, around Comox and on posters around the Valley.
"It will be second nature for people to see 'road closure,' " she noted.
As for parking, Stevens did admit that there will be limitations, but is encouraging spectators to car pool and shuttle to the tournament. In addition, each team will be given a team car parking pass with a restricted area where they can park the one team vehicle.
Stevens told council she has contacted emergency services about the closures, and has hired a professional security team for Friday and Saturday night, along with security for the beer gardens, which will be located on the former Lorne Hotel parking lot.
The weekend event will also feature a kid zone along with a free shooting clinic with the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
For more information about the tournament, visit www.comoxrecreation.com
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