This in from Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic, his take on the most and least desirable cities for an NHL fan from his home city of Pittsburgh to visit, with Edmonton ranked 24th out of 32 teams.
Yohe ranks Edmonton just ahead of boring and expensive San Jose, Ottawa and Winnipeg and just behind St. Louis, Detroit and Minnesota.
Yohe noted that seeing McDavid play in his home rink is an experience, the city has lots of nice hotels, and Sherlock Holmes is a great bar, but he added that getting here is a hassle, Calgary is better bet for a visit, and, essentially, “There isn’t a whole lot going on. You can get bored pretty quickly there.”
His bottom line?
“I couldn’t stand Edmonton on my first few visits, but over the years, it’s grown on me. People in Edmonton are so friendly in the classic Canadians-are-always-friendly kind of way. It’s a walkable downtown with many cool pubs. Getting there isn’t fun, but I do recommend the Western Canada trip for hockey fans. If you can afford it, do it once. Edmonton might be the most exciting leg on the trip, but only a handful of Connor McDavid vs. Crosby matchups remain. It’s always worth seeing.”
My take
1. Overall, that sounds about right from an outsider’s perspective. Yohe’s light-hearted take is welcome. Nothing Yohe says here is false and it is swell of him to suggest the city has grown on him. We’ve had much harsher reviews in the past, I can assure you.
Yohe travels to all these cities, so I find his perspective interesting and credible. He’s an insider when it comes to knowing and ranking NHL arenas, fan experience and downtowns, where most of the arenas are located.
2. As Pittsburgh’s beat writer, it doesn’t sound like Yohe has been in Edmonton in May or June yet when the Oilers are becoming known for winning playoff rounds and the downtown is at its best, full of boisterous and cheery Oilers fans. The city received a number of 5-star reviews at that time, including from well-known Oilers critic P.K. Subban. In mid-June during the Stanley Cup Final, Subban had a great time in Edmonton and Oilers fans won him over. As he said on the Pat McAfee Show: “Edmonton did a phenomenal job those three, four days, we were there, the food, the fans. They deserved that win, and I found myself … actually cheering for the Oilers. I wanted to see them win.”
The Oilers were riding on the roar of the amazing Edmonton hockey crowd, Subban said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a building that loud. The energy in the building was contagious They fed off of it.”
In his promotion of Yohe’s story, columnist Mark Lazerus of The Athletic also praised Edmonton in the spring: “Edmonton IS very nice in the spring! And it’s perfectly fine in the winter, too. Cold is cold. It’s cold here. It’s cold there. Whatever. Go to Edmonton. I now work for the Edmonton Ministry of Tourism.”
3. Edmontonians themselves have had many questions and complaints in recent years about downtown because of the city government’s slow-moving attempts to control disorder, street encampments and open drug use. The good news is that Ice District is starting to do its thing in transforming at least one large area of the downtown into a place outsiders love to visit. That said, if visitors venture too far from Ice District, things can get scary for them.
4. The best thing about Edmonton is its river valley, but I don’t see many Edmontonians down there in the winter time, let alone outside tourists. Perhaps if we had built a major sauna facility, like the Kananaskis Nordic Spa, in the valley, we’d lure NHL writers and other tourists to venture into the city’s most scenic and amazing location, but our business leaders and city government have yet to be able to create such an attraction. I still like Michael Zabinski’s brilliant idea of converting the old power plant in Rossdale into a half urban ruin/half nordic spa but between government red-tape and cranky, anti-development interest groups that will never happen. Too many in Edmonton would rather be mediocre and safe than bold and alluring.
5. Of course, there is also West Edmonton Mall, as always a magnet for outside visitors, though maybe not so much for visitors who live for the rush and the hum of a thriving downtown. Edmonton’s downtown has been slowly improving since 1990, starting with the opening of a new City Hall and the redevelopment of Grant MacEwan University on the old train lands, but it’s been a long fight, and major battles have been lost in recent years, such as COVID restrictions banning office workers from working downtown off and on for two years and, as mentioned, overly permissive policies on crime and drug use. Perhaps Ice District will be enough of an attraction to change all that, but Edmonton’s downtown still needs help, work, imagination and investment.
6. Danielle Smith’s provincial government is now putting $300+ million into Calgary’s arena district. Perhaps a series of wise infrastructure investments could also provide a major boost to Edmonton’s core. We’ve seen reports that Smith’s government is working with the Oilers Entertainment Group and the city on some kind of plan.
My own preference would finally be developing something special along the waterfront downtown in Walterdale and Rossdale. The river valley is by far our greatest and most beautiful asset but we’ve not yet found a way to make it a year-round tourist attraction downtown. I’ve been beating that drum for 30 years now but we’ve yet to make game-changing move. Perhaps we never will.
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