On May 23, 2004, Tom Dyas was among the 6,577 captivated fans inside Prospera Place who witnessed the making of Kelowna hockey history.

As hosts of the Canadian Hockey Leaguesa国际传媒檚 national championship for the first time, the Kelowna Rockets defeated the Gatineau Olympiques 2-1 to secure the franchisesa国际传媒檚 first ever Memorial Cup title.

Celebrating alongside Dyas in the stands on that warm, spring Okanagan day was his father, 83-year-old Harry, and Tomsa国际传媒檚 son, Lyndon.

sa国际传媒淚t was electric, an amazing feeling, unforgettable to see that and be part of it,sa国际传媒� Dyas said of the 2004 Memorial Cup. sa国际传媒淭o see the home team win, in that atmosphere, itsa国际传媒檚 something you never forget.

sa国际传媒淏eing here now to help with this bid, itsa国际传媒檚 like turning back the hands of time,sa国际传媒� he added. sa国际传媒淲hen I told dad about the fact that Kelowna was bidding again, he said hesa国际传媒檚 looking forward to being at this (Memorial Cup), too. Hesa国际传媒檒l be 99.sa国际传媒�

With Dyas serving as the point man for the bid committee, the Rockets have thrown their hat in the ring to host the Memorial Cup tournament for the second time in 2020.

Last week, Dyas and the Kelowna contingent, headed up by Rocketssa国际传媒� GM Bruce Hamilton and including Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran, spent several days in Regina at the 2018 Memorial Cup.

Kelowna 2020 Bid Committee is in Regina meeting w/ officials, , to sharpen their bid for 2020 in Kelowna. TY for your great hospitality & good luck to all!

sa国际传媒� Kelowna Rockets #HumboldtStrong (@Kelowna_Rockets)

Dyas said the visit was an important step in the process as the Rockets continue to fine-tune and strengthen their bid for 2020.

sa国际传媒淚t went well, it gave us a chance to connect with local committees there and to see what they had in place,sa国际传媒� said Dyas, the Rocketssa国际传媒� 2020 bid chairman. sa国际传媒淭he process of accreditation, the tracking of volunteers and setting that up, from national anthems to VIPs and a number of other areas that are involved in an event of his magnitude. I would say we (Kelowna committee) have most of the boxes ticked already, but it was very useful to see the events as they were taking place.sa国际传媒�

RELATED: Rockets to bid on 2020 Memorial Cup

Among the main criteria for teams bidding to host the Memorial Cup is guaranteeing a substantial financial return to the Western Hockey League and its member teams, having adequate infrastructure in place, such as the arena and hotels, and icing a competitive team.

The Rockets met all those standards for the 2004 event and Bruce Hamilton fully expects the same to hold true for the 2020 tournament.

With the Rockets footing the bill for the season-end championship, Hamilton anticipates the club will offer a kickback of somewhere between $1.5 and $2 million to the WHL.

In order to meet those commitments, and with the ever-increasing costs of hosting a national sporting event, Hamilton said community support will be vital.

sa国际传媒淗aving it here, so much of it will be based on season tickets,sa国际传媒� Hamilton said. sa国际传媒淭he guarantee is that fans get to see at least three, maybe four, of the best teams in the country.

sa国际传媒淲e already have one of the largest season-ticket bases in the CHL and if we can beef that up,sa国际传媒� he added, sa国际传媒渨e can show them theresa国际传媒檚 going to be no problem in us hosting this again.sa国际传媒�

In 2004, Hamilton said the Rockets pushed the non-game events to a new level, with tents, displays and kiosks surrounding the arena, creating a bona fide, festival-like atmosphere.

Hamilton said the Rockets plan to up the ante in 2020.

sa国际传媒淲e want to sell it as an entire downtown event,sa国际传媒� said Hamilton. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e partnering with Tourism Kelowna, and wesa国际传媒檙e going to really make this an event for the downtown core, where people really feel like theysa国际传媒檙e part of something.

sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l have people coming in from all over the country at a nice time of the year and we want them to remember it.sa国际传媒�

Along with the considerable expense of hosting the Memorial Cup comes significant economic spin-offs for Kelowna. With restaurants, hotels and other businesses in high demand for 10 days, itsa国际传媒檚 estimated the 2020 championship would pump a minimum of $12 to $15 million into the local economy.

Competition to host the 2020 tournament is expected to come from a pair of the Rocketssa国际传媒� B.C. Division rivals, the Victoria Royals and Kamloops Blazers.

Like Bruce Hamilton, Royals general manager Cam Hope said community support and quality amenities will be crucial to each bid.

sa国际传媒淲e think wesa国际传媒檝e done a pretty good job in that regard,sa国际传媒� said Hope. sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e one of the few teams thatsa国际传媒檚 increased our attendance year after year. We have a good track record in the city for hosting events. I donsa国际传媒檛 think that necessarily distinguishes us from Kelowna and Kamloopssa国际传媒�but our infrastucture is set up for tourism, we have an international airport nearby, a huge number of hotels and a vibrant downtown area.

sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 think the WHL could go wrong with any of the three teams,sa国际传媒� he added. sa国际传媒淏ut wesa国际传媒檙e a younger team, Victoria has never hosted before, so we feel like wesa国际传媒檙e ready.sa国际传媒�

Teams bidding for the 2020 Memorial Cup will make their final presentations to an independent selection panel on Oct. 2 and 3 in Calgary.

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