Wildcats' playoff game moved to Fredericton after Moncton Coliseum conflict

Moncton council will pay $125,000 to move the Wildcats' playoff game to Fredericton's Aitken Centre this weekend, if a Game 5 is required. 

Mayor George LeBlanc points to the scheduling conflict for the city's Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team as more proof that a new downtown sports and entertainment complex is needed.

The Moncton Wildcats won't be able to play on their home ice surface this weekend if they win one of their next two games in Halifax.

Their home rink at the Moncton Coliseum is already booked for the weekend to host the Speed Sport East event.

Moncton council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to deal with the conflict.

LeBlanc did not chair the meeting, saying it would be a conflict of interest.

Coun. Brian Hicks said he would not support the recommendation to pay to move the Wildcats games, calling it a costly mistake.

Game 5. if needed, will now be held on Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m at Fredericton's Aitken Centre.

LeBlanc says scheduling conflicts at the Moncton Coliseum and Agrena have been going on for years.

"We have had, for as long as I can remember, scheduling problems at the Coliseum as a result of a very successful trade and event business at the Agrena and into the Coliseum and of course trying to look after the schedule for our major tenants, the Wildcats," LeBlanc said.

"So clearly a downtown centre will solve that problem."

The Wildcats are playing the Halifax Mooseheads in the second round of the QMJHL playoffs. The Wildcats dropped the first two games of the best-of-seven series in Moncton and will play in Tuesday and Wednesday in Halifax.

If the Wildcats manage a single victory in Halifax, the schedule would have the Wildcats back in Moncton on Friday.

The Moncton mayor said recently that he believes the proposed $107-million downtown sports and entertainment centre is at a crossroads.

LeBlanc said the downtown centre is an important project for the city's future.

Construction of the proposed centre was supposed to begin this spring or summer, but everything has been on hold since December. The federal and provincial governments have not come through with funding to help the city pay for the $107-million centre.

The Moncton mayor said he still hoping for some news on provincial and federal funding for the downtown centre soon.

"Acts are passing us by because the facility is inadequate," he said.

"The choices are quite obvious, we can do nothing or we can or we can move ahead in a positive way."