Spokane Chiefs announce intent to bid on hosting 2026 Memorial Cup

The Spokane Chiefs organization on Tuesday announced its intent to bid to become the host city for the 2026 Memorial Cup, the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League.

The culminating tournament of the CHL season, the Memorial Cup crowns a champion from the member league title holders and the host team. The CHL consists of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The tournament rotates among the leagues each season.

The host team is granted an automatic bid into the round-robin tournament.

“We believe the combination of our team, staff, facilities, and city of Spokane will provide for an unforgettable Memorial Cup,” Spokane Chiefs governor Bobby Brett said in the team’s announcement.

“It’s very exciting,” Chiefs general manager Matt Bardsley said. “It’s exciting for the players. It’s exciting for the organization and fans. And it’s exciting for the community. For the organization and the players, it’s giving ourselves a chance to compete. We feel confident about our team and the on-ice product, but there are a lot of components that go into it.”

The bids for hosting the Memorial Cup aren’t due until September, so the Chiefs don’t know which organizations they might have to compete against for the privilege of hosting. On top of the on-ice quality of the team and the organization, the bids will be also evaluated on the facilities and accommodations within the community.

The Arena is widely recognized as one of the top facilities in the WHL.

“It’s an unbelievable facility,” Bardsley said. “It’s hosted major events like the NCAA (basketball) Tournament. That’s a big tournament and it has shown that it can host something of that size. … It’s able to bring people together from inside the community, the country and the world, really. Spokane has shown it’s already done this and there’s a template in place.”

The Memorial Cup is expected to have a significant economic impact through an influx of visitors and exposure. The 106th version of the tournament will be played over 10 days in May 2026, and provide a significant spotlight on the region, including media coverage that includes national Canadian and American broadcasts, radio and online platforms.

“It’s a very unique tournament,” Bardsley said. “I really think it’s the hardest trophy to win, maybe in all of sports. To keep it in hockey terms, it’s like winning the Stanley Cup and then playing in another tournament and winning that as well.”