Halford & Brough in the Morning - Drancer Talks Canucks + Shelley Frost On The New PWHL Vancouver Team

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason discuss the latest 'Nucks news with Canucks Talk host & The Athletic Vancouver's Thomas Drance (1:29), they chat the new PWHL Vancouver team which is set to play at the Pacific Coliseum next season, as PNE President & CEO Shelley Frost (25:51) joins the show, plus the boys do some What We Learnds (40:00).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

We just have to call Thomas Dranzerotica. Thomas Dranzerotica. Corsi. Thomas Dranzerotica. Expected goals. Thomas Dranz Erotica. Tough model. Thomas Drance Erotica.

Regression. Thomas Drance Erotica. Pity. Oh. Thomas Drance Erotica. Oh, Thomas Drance, Veronica. 803 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you

by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. As the music suggests, Thomas Drance from the athletic and Canucks talk is going to join us to kick off our three. Our three is brought to you by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers, trustee expertise of Campbell and Pound.

Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com. Today, we are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, Thomas Drance joins us now in the Haliford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. What up Drance sir? Gentlemen, good morning. Drance sir, it's Thursday, deadline Friday for the RIC talking decision. Are you hearing anything? Well, I know that this is a critical 48 hours here today and tomorrow. If we're going to get the positive news that the Canucks are hoping for, the talk gets

decided to stay, which, you know, I still narrowly expect. But obviously, this is a difficult one to gauge. You know, I think these next couple days and really over the weekend, I mean, I know this week is when Rutherford sort of suggested that they'd have a decision. I wouldn't be stunned, I suppose, if it goes through the weekend, but yeah, my understanding is talk is coming back in town. So presumably there'll be some touchpoints there.

And yeah, I'll definitely be on high alert to see some news over the next 48 hours. So we haven't chatted since the Monday presser with Patrick Alveen and Jim Rutherford. And let's face it, it was 90% Jim Rutherford up there, although Patrick Alveen did supply some awkward laughter. Very nervous laughter.

When, uh, when Jim Rutherford was doing a little light tampering, but it was a joking way. Um, what were your main takeaways from that, uh, from that presser? Uh, I mean, I thought the main one was just that I can't for like this franchise is entering choppy waters over the course of the season. Right.

And there's a lot of things that have happened, uh, under Jim Rutherford and Patrick Elvin's watch and predating them that are, that have happened under Jim Rutherford and Patrick Elvin's watch and predating them that have kind of all come together at the same time to create somewhat difficult or challenging circumstances for this team over the course of what we expect to be a significant offseason right I mean you think about the Oliver Ekman Larson buyout ballooning to near $5M. It's over $5M in dead space when you combine it with the Mikheyev retained salary transaction.

The JT Miller trade that they didn't want to make, which has clearly, as Rutherford put it, put this team into more of a transitional phase of their team building cycle than where the club was hoping to be at down the stretch last season. Their needs are the most expensive players to acquire. It's not just the centre, although man, a top two centre is key for this team. It's also probably an additional scoring winger. The decisions on just about every front, a possible Demco extension, are fraught, right? Incredibly risky, all told. And in sort of navigating these choppy waters, it just seemed to me that the club's hockey operations leadership was pretty intent on framing the stakes appropriately,

right? Like there was no sugarcoating this. There was no like line dropped about, you know, we're over the six youngest team on average, right? There was none, there was nothing that if you were like an uncritical fan that just wanted a line to repeat or a little bit of a nugget of hope to cling to, that wasn't on offer, right? Like it just felt to me to be stern of tone, right?

Like we've got a lot to do here. It's gonna be really tricky to do. It's gonna be expensive to accomplish, which means, you know, logically, we're probably gonna have to make some decisions that are unpopular, trade some fan favorite players, let some players walk who our fans would prefer

to see resign. That's on the menu. And I just think the tone of it all, from the answer on Quinn Hughes to the answer on Temco to the answer on Pedersen and all the commentary about Pedersen, I think all lined up with sort of an organization that I think was pretty intent on making sure the market understood what was going on and then sort of how grave the possibilities could be in the months ahead. How are they going to do it? And like, what are their chances of accomplishing it? Yeah.

So thinking about it a little bit, right? I think there's, you know, at the end of the day, we look at the standings and we'll see that the Canucks finish what, four or five points out of the playoffs. I mean, they weren't a mile away. What are the chances of them accomplishing it in terms of building a team that truly can contend next year? Well, I mean, I thought the Canucks were only on the fringes of contending. And I know people say, well, they got to within a goal of the Edmonton Oilers, but, you know, they got pretty thoroughly outclassed as that series went along, right?

With two chances to advance the Western Conference Final, game six and seven last year, they weren't close. And so I didn't buy that team necessarily as more than like a fringe contender, right? So getting back to that level, I think is like closer to realistic than getting to the level of, you know, some of these teams we're watching every night right now, right? Then then getting to the level of like Vegas, right? Like that to me is a, that your chances of getting to the level of like Vegas, right? Like that to me is your chances of getting to the level that Vegas is at in terms of their overall roster composition and quality I think is low. But could you get to a somewhat similar level as this team hit

the prior season? That I think is somewhat doable just based off of you need some things to go right in season obviously, but you know, the level that Quinn Hughes was at, I mean, I was looking at it last night and the, you know, the level that he was at in the first 47 games. I mean, he was on pace for, before he sustained that core injury in Dallas the night that they traded JT Miller, we were 47 games into the season. He had 59 points and 14 goals. He was on pace for 20 goals and 100 points. And if your starting point is we have that guy, man, I mean, that's something that raises both floor and ceiling. That's something that makes

is like both floor and ceiling. That's something that makes being a much improved side next year very reasonable, like very, very much reasonable. You should be able to put a playoff team around a guy who the moment he steps out on the ice is point per game plus as a defenseman, plays 25 minutes a night and drives the sort of two-way results that we really only see from three or four of the best players in the NHL. Like that, that gives you a baseline. Now, you definitely need Pedersen to be an awful lot better than he was this year. That's stating the obvious. You definitely need Thatcher Demko to be an awful lot more available next year than he was this year. So, and then, and then you do need more talent, you do need more goal scoring talent. You can't generate shots at a rate that's 31st in the NHL, only better than the Chicago

Blackhawks. Like that's not going to cut it, that doesn't give you enough juice, it doesn't give you enough margin for error. You have to be too perfect defensively. And the Canucks weren't near perfect enough defensively, let's be real, right? Like in addition to the offensive struggles, their defensive game fell off. But having that Hughes effect, having that top of the lineup, just star, I do think gives them a credible shot of at least like making the playoffs and being good enough that fans

can talk themselves into this team being sort of back on the road to contention. But man, their chances of success going beyond that? I think it's going to be incredibly challenging without winning multiple trades in quick succession here. Yeah. The one line that I've thrown out a lot is that the Canucks have three guys that scored 20 goals or more this season. And two of them are pending on a restrictive free agents that probably

won't be back in Brock Bester and Pugh Suter. And then the other guy is Jake DePresque. Um, so this is a team whose offense wasn't exactly amazing this season. Again, like who are some names that, that you're thinking about? Cause I know you're always thinking about this sort of stuff, but you know, let's take the

free agency out of it because we all know the names and you know, frankly, the Canucks management doesn't seem all that optimistic that they're going to land any of those big names. By the way, they talked about it on Monday, said maybe we'll get lucky with one of them, but who are some names that they could target that can make a meaningful difference for the Canucks?

Yeah. I mean, I was thinking about this a little bit last night, especially while watching that Capitals Montreal Canadians game where Connor McMichael was absolutely killing it. And McMichael to me stands out for a couple of reasons, namely though, that he really had this breakout season on the wing for the Capitals over the course of this year,

acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois allowed them to shift him back to the wing. But the season prior, he really was a full-time center for the Capitals. And there's a couple of players that match this description. Another one is the Winnipeg Jets forward, Cole Profetti. Guys who have played a lot of center in the past but are in situations on really good teams that have enough depth that they tend to play the wing. So one thing I think about

in terms of if you're willing to part with a ton of assets, you know, if you're willing to spend to add a center, one way to maybe consider doing it, this is just something I was sort of thinking about and I wanted to throw out a couple of names, could you target one of those young wingers, quote unquote, but guys who were drafted as centres, have played a ton of centre, have skill sets that can work in that spot, with McMichael sort of being, in my view, a more credible option just because he's got more speed. And that's really what I think the Canucks need down the middle here. You know, I think that's a way of maybe, you know, not

buying low because those guys are still going to be enormously expensive. But yeah, you look at the deals that they're on there, they're short term, like one or two year kind of bridge E contracts. Those teams are going to have significant calf considerations in a variety of different areas. EELRs expiring in the Jets case, like are those the sorts of guys that you can buy, not low on, but that you could pay as like a super promising forward as opposed to an established center, but maybe they can play center for you. Right? Like those are the sorts of angles that I'm, that I'm sort of thinking about here. Um, in, in terms of what could be available, Pavel Zaka, the, the Boston Bruins center, uh, in the event that they sort of decide to go deeper into a rebuild, right? He's like prime age, like not, I think it's 27, 28.

He's got two years left to super affordable contract. He's like a pretty consistent 50 point guy would be, would give them some bulk, give them some size down the middle, which I'm sure certainly if Rick talk gets back, you would appreciate. So those are the sorts of guys that I'm thinking about, but yeah, it's tough to come up with names, man. Like it is tough to think up with names, man.

Like it is tough to think of centermen that could be available. So really I wonder, you know, too, are you able to build a baseline? Like are you able to build a baseline, find a good enough middle six guy, maybe he's an older player, you know, maybe it's a grand land type in free agency and just sort of create an environment where you're good enough that you position yourself to take advantage of, you know, the next JT Miller situation, right? Like the next guy who shakes loose for reasons that are completely impossible to anticipate today.

Um, but shakes loose over the course of the year. Um, and sort of add to it in season. We've, we've seen that this group is pretty comfortable entering the year with one team that's sort of an unfinished product and having a very different looking team by the deadline. So it's not as simple in some ways too, as like they have to figure it out for sure this off season. Like they have to have graphed enough sort of depth and talent and scoring juice into

their lineup. I think to get off to the sort of good start that would permit them to keep tweaking in season next year. But I do sort of wonder too, like if you're looking for that star top six center guy, is that something where you might have to produce like a reasonable facsimile of that in the over the course of this offseason with an eye toward maybe even upgrading it during the year. Dranser, I was reading Harms, Harman Dial's piece on on PD and the headline is how did Elias Pedersen go from superstar to one of the NHL's most

disappointing players? Great breakdown, lots of highlights that show where and how his game has declined. I noticed in your grades that Elias Pedersen was the only forward to receive the grade of F. This, the grade of F F it was a failure A failing grade. Well, why would he suppose to say? Yeah, the grade of water I need see left side a D. Did you ever bring your apart card home? It's like what grade did you get father? I have received the grade of the grade The grade of F. I never had that. Guys, you'll be completely unsurprised to learn this, but I was one of those kids who'd come home and I'd be like, Hey, yeah, no, I got straight A's.

It's fine. And then my mom would be like, no, you didn't. You got a C plus in PE. My C plus has always came in art. Jason doesn't seem to care about art. You're right. That teacher has got it in art. Jason doesn't seem to care about art. You're right. That teacher has got it bang on. Um, anyway, we're all filibustering here

because, uh, this is when you're going to throw out your theory on whether or not he can return to form. Yeah. I look. I. Are we talking to Rick Taukeadere? Are you rubbing your temples right now?

Alongside. I know. The, the extreme. I know, I know. I've got some extremely telling body language going on. I don't know, right? I don't know. And I would say my confidence has been dented because of how long these struggles have persisted, right? If the speed doesn't come back, then I do think we're talking about a different phase

of Pedersen's career. And if the speed doesn't come back, I think he's going to have to adjust his game. Like I think he's going to have to materially adjust his game. Now if you have to materially adjust your game in midstream in the NHL at the age of 26, I'd rather you be, you know, someone like Patterson with an extraordinary level of hockey IQ in seeking to do that, um, then an average player, but it's still a big ask, right? It's still a big ask, especially when you've

got seven years remaining at 11.6 and need to be the reason this team wins. That's an impossible ask. That's honestly in terms of like, like Drancer, have you taken a moment to just wonder what it would be like if he comes back next season and it's the same? Yes, I have.

And I like, it's, I mean, it, the, the Canucks build, right, would be fundamentally compromised. If he, if he's not the answer to your top line center issue, if you need another top line center, because it's not Patterson, um, then, then you absolutely need to consider, I think, trading him this off season. Especially if you want to do dramatic surgery with short-term successes as the top line goal of it. But that said, I don't see a world where you can bring in a player who, you know, can match Pedersen ceiling case here, right?

Can match the, the, what we could, what we could reasonably expect from Pedersen if he looks like he did, you know, in 2022, 23, or, or in the first half of the 2023, 24 campaign. Um, like they, I don't, I don't see how this is workable without a Pedersen bounce back. And, and then you get to, will the speed come back?

Will the skating stride come back? Uh, the shot velocity concerns me a little bit less, but only a little bit less because it feels connected, right? It's like, why does this guy have no juice? Yeah. I mean, your, your shot velocity is not with your arms. It's with your body.

Yeah, no, I know. Point being, man, it's a really tough one. Like it's a really tough one. I think I'm usually inclined to just close my eyes and bet on talent when I think about these things, but this is one that, you know, you might not, it might not be enough to close your eyes, you might also have to hold your nose.

And yet I don't see what, I don't see what better options there are. I mean, I, you know, you, you sell low on a, on a guy who I mean, is your problem, is your best solution to the biggest glaring area of need in the lineup. And then now you. Such a connects decision. probably is your best solution to the biggest glaring area of need in the lineup. And then now you.

Such a connects decision. It's crazy. Sorry, let me, let me, let me frame it this way. Like I like to think sometimes in terms of what do I get if I'm right? Like what do you get if you're right? Right. And so it's like, I think that's an important framing in this case, right? What do the connects get if they're right?

And what they're right about, like the bet is, Pedersen won't get, won't bounce back. Right? So the negative side of this is, Pedersen doesn't bounce back and we duck that bullet by pulling the shoot and finding a way to trade him for something, you know, something useful, let's say like a top six forward of some kind this summer. What do we get if we're right? Right. And the, and the thing you get, if you're right, is like long-term cap flexibility.

Yes. You've ducked a bullet, you've avoided risk, right? Like you've managed your risk and maybe you get a pretty nice contributor back to. Okay. So you have cap flexibility and you've avoided the risk. too. Okay. Yep. So you have cap flexibility and you've avoided the risk. Well, is that the sort of thing that even matters for this team, given the stakes around the huge thing and the, and the sort of brittleness of this overall build, right? Like, no.

Where, whereas if Pedersen bounces back, what do we get if we're right? A hundred point top six or top line center who's typically driven really good two way results. Well, that's like, this is a home run cut off season. And the easiest home run cut to make is we have to bet on Pedersen getting back to who he is because at least if we're right there, what do we get? We get exactly the thing we need, like literally

the thing we need. Yeah. And so I don't know, man, like literally the thing we need. Yeah. And so I don't know, man, like I think they have to think about it that way. I think so too. Yeah. And it's almost like a moral hazard issue with management.

Right. Cause they're kind of like, well, our only chance is Peterson bounces back. Otherwise, you know, the first thing that you brought, like, okay, otherwise we still haven't fixed our issues down the middle. And second of all, if we bet on Petey and he doesn't bounce back, then we at least get to leave.

Hope is not a plan, gentlemen. Hope is not a plan. Sorry, but it's hope is not a plan. Hope is not a plan, but I do think you have to factor in the upside cases here and what you're trying to do overall. And for me, I guess that's the other thing I'd add, right? Is the way that they were, that management was like was willing to effectively call Pedersen's preparation

and performance to account, the way that he was publicly challenged in that forum. And you know, fair to wonder if that will work, right? Like fair to wonder if that's the best approach from the perspective of motivating of the player. But I do think it's a window into an organization that certainly didn't seem to mind or wasn't prioritizing like managing his asset value.

The audience for that commentary was clearly not other GMs considering trading for Pedersen, clearly Pedersen himself. And I think that's a pretty of kind of where we should set our expectations in terms of where this goes. Drancer, you're the best buddy. Thanks for doing this today. As always, we really appreciate it. Enjoy draft night too. It's gonna be a lot of fun this evening. Let's go.

Let's go. Need the jags to trade out. Yeah, right. See you buddy. Have a good one. Thomas Trance from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk here on the Haliford and Bref Show on Sportsnet at 6.50. Jeff from Mission Text In,

this is bloody depressing. Mike the urologist from Brockville, this is the worst. And then he says, like, the PD situation, not Drantz. Yeah, right, okay, I get it, thank you. And he also said, never heard Drantz or at such a loss for words. The Drantzian sigh, it doesn't happen often, but when it does.

You can tell the Drantz computer, like the Drantz 3000 is like, this does not compute. None of it computes. And then it does that. I don't know. It's like my Microsoft Excel sheet just exploded. This doesn't happen. This doesn't happen to players in their mid-20s that have put up hundred point seasons. That guy in the inbox laughed at me and called me a mean name when I suggested that at 26, that Pederson might be atrophying slowly.

Well, that was dumb. It wasn't that dumb. It was dumb. It happens to people. At 26? Yeah, some people, it does. I don't know what to tell you, but it does. Some people lose their athletic ability a lot earlier than others.

Some of them lose it when they're in their teens. I lost mine when I was seven. There you go. I was an incredible athlete for seven years of my life Disappeared I just all went away. Yeah, I'm not a doctor by trade, but I have anecdotal evidence that it's true that it happened Okay, we gotta go to break. It's when a dog discovered sugar. Yeah Video game sugar take your pick. Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the program. We have another guest Shelly Frost the president and CEO of the PNE.

Exciting times at the PNE. They've got a new PWHL team here in Vancouver that they'll be hosting for the foreseeable future. Also, we can talk about the Whitecaps, the World Cup, everything else. Shelley Frost, the president and CEO of the PNE, is joining us next on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. It's Canucks Central with Dan Riccio and Satyar Shah, your destination for everything Canucks.

Exclusive interviews, inside info, and even the post-game show. Listen 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays and on demand through your favorite podcast app. 8.33 on a Thursday. Happy Thursday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in the final half hour of the program.

Shelley Frost, the president and CEO of the P&E, is going to join us in just a moment here. To finish off the show, as mentioned, it is hour three of the program. Hour three is brought to you by Campbell & Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Pound.com today. Exciting times for the P&E. Yesterday, of course, it was announced that the new PWHL team in Vancouver will be playing out of the fairgrounds, which is awesome. Also, there's a big summer ahead. Whitecaps news, World Cup news the next year, lots of stuff. So we thought, who better to talk to than the

president and CEO of the P&E? Shelley Frost joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Shelley. How are you? Good morning, guys. So glad to be here. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. So I do want to start with the most topical news, and that, of course, the professional women's hockey league, the Vancouver franchise will be playing out of the P&E. When did they first approach the PNE about playing there?

And then I guess the second part of that question is, what work needs to be done now that the announcement has been made? Yeah, so we're thrilled to have them playing out of the Pacific Coliseum. They started kind of looking at expansion teams, I wouldn't want to say about eight months ago, and they went into an RFP process

to explore different cities. And that was part of what when they were doing the PWHL Takeover Tour, and they were doing just huge games in big cities across Canada and the US, just kind of testing the market a little bit. And they were doing those games in November, December, January. And we connected with them in late fall and brought them out to the site, you know, had a really good conversation with them in late fall and brought them out to the site, had a really good conversation with them. We responded to their RFP and they just have been a really fantastic organization for

us to work with. We are very much values aligned and we were successful in putting together a proposal that made it worth their while to make sure that Vancouver was their choice for their first expansion city. So what work needs to be done at the Coliseum where they play their games in the agrodome, where I once got hit over the boards in a game when I was in, when I was about 15 and I could,

I could smell the horse manure. Um, and yeah, that was a long time ago. It's an old, it's an old building. Uh, that's going to be ago. It's an old building. That's going to be their practice ice. So what work needs to be done at both buildings? Yeah. So, you know, there's an ongoing capital plan for

improvements in both venues. We'll be doing things. We took out our centre hung score clock a couple of years ago, a few years ago, and we were very determined that before we put a new one in, that we would have a primary attendance in place and we would make sure that that centre-hung score clock would match their technical needs

and that it would be something that would cover all their bases in terms of the specs that they needed. So, you know, that'll be coming in. We'll be doing updates to some food and beverage outlets. We'll be doing updates to some food and beverage outlets, we'll be doing updates to back of house in terms of locker rooms and officials rooms and training facilities. And we'll be doing the same in the agrodome as well. They'll be practicing in there on a daily basis. And so there'll be upgrades going into dressing rooms and training facilities and stuff there as well.

So we're just, we're looking forward to welcoming them on site. Those venues, I mean, you know, there's such an iconic history in the Pacific Coliseum of hockey and of sports. And it's got a great sight lines. It's got really unique architecture that you, you know, you can go up to concourse and not miss a minute of the game. And it's also a bit of an intimate experience, even though there could be, you know, up to 15,000 people in the building. Yeah. It's a great arena. It really is. Shelly, I have to ask you, what's it like being

responsible for such a large and iconic parcel of land in a city like Vancouver, where, now I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I imagine you've got, I imagine you've got to strike a balance between honouring the history of the site, but also looking towards the future. Yeah, that's a great question. I am so, like every day I wake up and I'm completely

honoured to be able to be the steward of and work with an incredible team here to be the steward of this incredible place. It's got 115 years of history, but our teams also talk a lot about the fact that while we have, you know, amazing, amazing things that have happened on site, we're not relying on the tradition and history. We're very much focused on the future. And so we are looking at what the next 100 years looks like, you know, bringing the PWHL to the site and, you know, rejuvenating the

Pacific Coliseum. We are building an incredible amphitheater in the middle of our site, which is going to be transformational and, you know, an incredible regional asset. We're investing in Playland. We just opened up our new Thunderbolt coaster. And so we're making investments in a number of different parts of the site, just to make sure that we're ready for the next hundred years. And I think that there's a really bright vision. We're still a place where people can come and, you know, we deliver, we talk all the time about delivering memorable experiences, but we bring people together.

We inspire joy. Um, we're still, you know, uh, uh, an entertainment destination, um, that is hard to beat. Yeah. And I'm not trying to sound cheesy here, but bringing people together is more and more important, I think, as people are separated more and more. Absolutely.

And we saw that more than ever coming out of COVID, the way that people wanted to come back together and, you know, people work from home now and, and things like that. And the moments that they have with friends and family and being able to experience incredible moments, um, is, well, I honestly, we are all thrilled to be able to be in a position to provide that to people.

And honestly, I can't wait for that first PWHL game just to see, you know, I don't know if you guys were at the PWHL Takeover Tour game at Rogers, but I've said a couple of times, it was walking around the concourse and even up to the venue and seeing all these six, eight, 10, 12 year old young girls, hockey players, teams, and the confidence and swagger that they had walking around that venue, watching a game of people where they could see themselves in the future was incredible to see. So that's what I can't wait to do. I can't wait to bring a whole new generation of hockey fans to the Pacific Coliseum for new experiences. And just talking with a couple of the players yesterday, they just talked about how they could

see themselves on the ice. And I think talking to an 11-year-old that can see themselves on the ice. And I think, you know, talking to an 11 year old that can see themselves playing professional hockey, um, is just something we would not have seen 10 or 20 years ago. Shelly, what's it like to have to work with so many different stakeholders? And I use a little corporate buzzword there in stakeholders. I like it.

Um, I think about, and, uh, this is, this is going to be a question. I don't know if you want to answer, but I think about the excitement that the news about a potential new soccer stadium for the Whitecaps created, but at the same time, I'm sure there are horse racing fans who aren't so excited about the possibility.

Yeah. And, you know, obviously those conversations will continue between the city and, and the state court is involved there. The racetrack specifically is not a space that the between the city and the stakeholders involved there. The racetrack specifically is not a space that the P&E manages or operates, but we strike, I think, at a really incredible balance

between community good and running a business. We are a nonprofit. We have to make sure that the revenue that we generate covers all the expenses to run this massive site. And we do that in a way that I think does a really great job of balancing stakeholder needs. And everything that we do has a bit of a community flair. And just taking one step back to the PWHL for a second,

that's what I love so much about the process with them is that it was never just about hockey. It was about developing local talent. It was about working with local teams. It was about camps and clinics and you know what the community impact was going to be and that aligns perfectly with you know the kinds of stuff that we do. We do do a lot of commercial events but we also do a lot of community events. And you know what? Yes, absolutely. You get pulled in a hundred different directions, but I think that we've got, you know, a team here that is very

much focused on, uh, as I said before, what the future looks like, but being careful about and thoughtful, careful and thoughtful about what we do and how we do it. Um, so this is my part where I bring it back to the business side. Um, how long is the lease for the operators of, of the horse racing track?

I want to say that they, uh, their current lease runs until the middle of 2026. Okay. And yeah, and you know, it'll, it'll obviously be, uh, between them and the city to, uh, either renegotiate a, an extension or, uh, or not. Um, what is the decision making process when it comes to big projects at the P&E? Is it the city of Vancouver that makes them? Because it used to be provincial, right? And

then they transferred it to the city, but there's also been some federal funding too. So lots of levels of government that have been involved. Yeah. Well, you're very well educated on that. Yeah. I do the odd bit of research. So we are, we're, we're owned by the city of Vancouver, but we operate independently. We have a board of directors that includes some senior city staff as well as independent directors. And so, um, you know,

we are a separate entity or a separate entity from the city, but we obviously work really closely with them. The goal here is for us to be, you know, to be financially self-sufficient. So, you know, when we take on projects, it is with the intent that the P&E is paying for those projects. Now, every once in a while, we will also reach out to different levels of government to say, hey, we're working on something that's really fantastic. Can you step in and support with, you know, a level of funding? And as an example, we had some federal funding just post COVID that would invest in some capital assets that would allow us to just, you know, be more efficient and stuff in the future. So we can invest in energy efficiently,

energy efficient lighting to reduce our costs or new equipment, things like that to run our business more efficiently. You know, we will occasionally ask the province as well. The province has a fund that supports major fairs, festivals and events. And so we, you know, talk to them when we're putting on a summer fair or something like that. But the goal is for us to be financially self-sufficient. And we, but of course we work very closely with the city. With a project like the amphitheater for example,

that is a massive project and that's not something that we would take on without knowing that council was fully on board and fully approving because in that case, the city's financing it for us. We're paying them back but the city's financing it. What have you got planned for the World Cup? So we're also really excited. There's so many things going on here. I just honestly, I wake up in the morning and my mind is buzzing and our team is busy and it's just a really great time to be at the PAD. The PAD site is going to be the official FIFA Fan Fest. So there are particular requirements from FIFA about the official fan zone.

I'm sure there'll be lots of pop-up places to celebrate FIFA but there are certain things that have to happen and can only happen at the official fan zone. So we look really forward, we're already working with the City of Vancouver and the organizing committee to bring an incredible FIFA festival experience to Vancouver for all those people who may not be able to get a ticket to the game and for all those guests who come into the city and want to celebrate. So it's going to be a really vibrant time over

the next couple of years. How much conversation do you have about public transportation to the P&E? Yeah. Is it good enough right now or what are the future plans? Yeah, you know, we're trying to have as many conversations as we can.

You know, we missed the boat in terms of having a SkyTrain station stop at the site, but you know, we are working with TransLink whenever we have a major event, they are fantastic partners in terms of working with us to do express buses up from SkyTrain stations and increasing the service in and around the site to make sure we can move people in and out. You know, I think the best example is the fare and that's probably when we bring the most people to the site, which is anywhere from, you know, 30 to 50,000 people a day. And they are fantastic partners in making sure that we can do that.

Now, we work with them kind of on a case by case basis, but I also know that once Broadway's done, that the city and TransLink will be looking at what the transportation corridor down Hastings looks like. And then I think that provides a new opportunity for how we're gonna move people to the site. Okay, last but but not least and this is a big one for Halford. Very excited. I know the amphitheater isn't available but I believe the Coliseum will be used for the summer nights concert

series but when is that going to be announced? Last year it was early April and now it's April 24th and we don't know. Well thaten Well, that's because we had a couple other big things to announce. We got to spread it out a little bit. We got to spread the love. Pete Fine. Kirsten So, late April, you're going to hear about a fantastic concert series. I think it's one of our best. And yes, concerts until the amphitheater is done in 26, we'll be doing them in the Pacific Coliseum, which actually just gives us a little bit more room. And so, we can continue doing them in the Pacific Coliseum, which actually just gives us a little bit more room.

And so we can continue to bring in amazing, amazing names. I wish I could share with you some of who that is, but I'm sorry, I'm gonna hold out today. That's okay, I can wait a little while longer. I know that the concert series is on, that's the important thing. So it is, and you're gonna have some amazing options. Shelly, this was fantastic.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this today. We genuinely appreciate it. I really appreciate you guys having me and thanks so much for the call this morning. Yeah, thank you. That's Shelly Frost, the president and CEO of the PNE here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. There is a whole heck of a lot going on there.

So I used to coach Little League at Hastings Little League, which is right across the street from the PNE. And I used to coach little league at Hastings little league, which was right across the street from the PNE. And I remember when teams would come in from like. Is that one, the one right on Hastings? Yep. Can you hit the ball onto Hastings? You sure can.

Yeah, I was, I went by the park and I'm like, Oh, so it was all dangerous. That was one of the things. When you get to the major level, so it goes rookie, minor, oh. So it was all dangerous. That was one of the things. It was like, when you get to the major level, so it goes rookie, minor, major. You get to major, the kids are strong enough to start. You need a green monster on left field. They don't have it.

Like it is, the kids take it as a personal challenge to try and knock one on to anything. It is, but anyway, when the teams would come in, there was a real sense of event about playing there because I don't know if this goes for everyone in the suburbs, but a lot of them didn't come into quote unquote the city as Andy puts it, the core of downtown Vancouver.

The heart of downtown. All that often and you go and like, so when you're playing ball, you look out and there's the Peony Fairgrounds and there's the Beast, this gigantic like ride there and you can see the roller coaster, you can see the Ferris wheel and then you can see Empire Fields and all the history there, you know, and then you look further. You got the mountains in the backdrop. It's a beautiful parcel of land.

It is really like without like overdoing it, as you're saying, getting through Schmalz or whatever about, it is at equal parts, historic, iconic, visually stunning, and important part of the city. And when you just, I mean, we talked to Shelley for 15 minutes and we covered what, like four or five different major events. I didn't even ask her if the Canucks have talked to her about a practice. They didn't even get there yet.

Cause I don't think they have. Hold on, talk about the scenery again. How beautiful it is down at the P&M. I can't do it, I can't do it. That's his bit. I can't steal it. Was on and steal his ball. I do have a bit I want to do, though, before we go, because we got a couple of minutes before we're done.

By the way, interesting that the lease at the the race course in twenty twenty six, she said. Two thousand twenty six. Yeah. And that would like I don't want to get any of the horse racing fans. Where were they? Where would they go? Br don't want to get any of the horse racing fans on me. Where would they go? Bruff's backyard with the rest of the horses. I think there have been some proposals to move a track to Langley.

They should do them indoors at Rodgers Arena. I think Minoru and Richmond used to be a racetrack. They got a lot going on in Minoru. They do. You know how they have short track speed skating? Yeah. They should have short track horse racing. The horses look miserable.

They're really jostling for position, aren't they? One of them's in the crowd. This happens every time. Okay, so we're going to end. I'm going to get this in here because I've been waiting on this. Things are getting violent down there with the horses attacking a civilian. So during the Drantz hit, and I was paying attention to the Drance hit, but Laddie brought to my attention that there's a famous old YouTube video

and became an internet meme. Chocolate Rain turned 18 years old. And Bruff didn't know what this was. Can you play a brief snippet of it? Chocolate rain. Some stay dry and others feel the pain. Chocolate rain. Okay, so it's not- And it goes on like that. Yeah. I haven't thought about that in years.

Right. So it's not so much about the actual video itself. It's that we now exist in a world where we have like retro internet memes, like things that there's been such a long period of time. Yeah, generational memes. 18 years old. They're memes that we know that like kids today wouldn't know.

You know like when the 90s became on Vogue and for fashion and then people were like, there was young kids like, have you ever heard of Nirvana? I'm like, yes, I have. Anyway. They're pretty big. We're now getting to that degree with internet memes because I don't know if you guys are aware of this or not,

but my kid the other day came up to me and he said, I guess that keyboard cat is long gone. He's coming back. The cat's dead. The team. The meme lives on forever. The cat died. Have you heard of hamster dance?

The cat died a long time ago. Anyway, I used to love the keyboard cat. Well, the website Newgrounds was huge, right? It had all the little clips and memes. My kid came up to me the keyboard. Well the website Newgrounds was huge, right? It had all the little clips and memes. My kid came up to me the other day, and I swear to God, he said, I just got nominated to do the ice bucket challenge. And I looked at him and I'm like, what year are we in?

Is it 2012? Are we still looking for Coney? Did we find him? Like what's going on right now? Didn't you have him do that? I think Trump did it too. The ice bucket challenge. Wasn't that like 2016 or something?

Whoever just dumped water on me is fired. The ice bucket challenge is back. This do pay falls off. It's now for a mental health initiative. Originally it was for Pete Freights and ALS. Yeah, ALS originally. But again, like it's been gone for so long, now it's come back in this retro way.

And this reminded me of a clip, and I want to play it because Brough can't handle it. When we first met and we first started working together, it was 2005. And in 2005, there was one meme and one meme only that everyone in sports knew. And it's this one. Later he gets the rebound, passes it to the to the man shoots it and boom goes a dynamite Okay, great. Thanks a lot for that look in the sports, right? 20 years old it turned 20 years old in March call of all time We used to play it and breath can't watching. I've never watched the entire thing

Oh, it's so me you get like four minutes long Cringe is the kids call it. It's called empathy right yeah 20 years old boom goes the die are ancient I know we're new does anyway that was a fun look down memory lane via the internet that was good Okay, we're out of here for today. We'll be back tomorrow. It's a Friday show It's ask Us Anything Friday. We're giving away a $100 gift card to AJ's Pizza. We should just do a bunch of old internet stuff tomorrow. Yeah.

We should come in with hamster dance. Badda bida, badda bida. Nope, not doing that. Bida, bada boo. Badda bada, badda bada, badda bada bada bada bada bada. I'm calling it right now, Internet Meme Friday on the Haliford and Brough Show. That's tomorrow.

Be sure to join us. For now though, we gotta say goodbye. Signing off, I have been Mike Alfred, he's been Jason Brough, he's been Adog, and he's been Laddy. This has been the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.