Ticket packages for the Grand Slam of Curling Tour Challenge will officially go on sale on Friday at the Western Financial box office.
The Tour Challenge, hosted by Western Financial Place and the Memorial Arena, will feature the top curling talent in the world with 30 mens teams and 30 women's teams competing in two tiers of the tournament bracket.
Todd Pellerin, one of the organizers of the committee that brought the event to Cranbrook, said that the pace of the ticket package sales—$199 for the first 400—will be important to gauge community interest.
"There is a limited amount of full-package deals for this event and they go on sale April 15 to June 30 at $199 a ticket package," Pellerin said. "But the most important thing is that ticket package includes free unlimited access to the Tier 2 event over at the Memorial Arena. It includes free admission to the social house, which has a cover charge of $10 to get in. So that's all included with the package deal, so they're actually getting closer to $300 in value for that $199."
Pellerin adds that prices will increase after June 30. The package includes individual tickets for all games and draws in both Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels, including playoffs.
If ticket sales are brisk, that should help assuage any fears of hosting the largest curling event on the Grand Slam of Curling tour in a smaller town like Cranbrook.
"It helps the event organizers, too, because we now have our guaranteed sales in place," Pellerin said. "We're a small town trying to put on a big town event and we are required to have a certain amount of ticket sales in place, so if you plan on coming, buy the full-meal deal, get all your tickets and if you come close to the event and you can't make a certain day then you can sell your ticket for that game or that day because each draw will have an individual ticket."
Weekend passes and individual tickets won't go on sale until later this year.
On the volunteer front, Pellerin says volunteer directors will be touching base with their corps of volunteers over the next few weeks.
"Some of the groups will not being training until probably closer to the event, other groups may get called right away," he said.
"…volunteers are filling up fast, we had a great turnout at our last meeting and if you plan on volunteering, you'd better get your name in over the next couple of weeks, because it's filling up fast," Pellerin said.
Anyone wishing to volunteer can contact the curling club through their website at www.cranbrookcurlingcentre.com.