International hockey will be centre stage in Sarnia-Lambton this fall.
The municipality will host the World Under 17 Challenge in November.
Tourism Sarnia Lambton Executive Director Mark Perrin made the official announcement Thursday morning.
"We encourage everyone to mark their calendars for November 1st to the 9th, and get ready to cheer on the best young hockey players around the world, and we can't wait to welcome the world to Sarnia-Lambton for the 2024 World Under 17 Hockey Challenge," said Perrin.
Perrin said the event is expected to generate between four and five million dollars for the local economy, and it's one of their largest events in the past ten years.
"From the standpoint of this tournament, this is probably one of the largest events that we could host here in Sarnia-Lambton given what we have for venues in the area as well as hotel capacity," he said. "When you kind of take that all into consideration, as well as the duration of the event being stretched over nine days, that's where that number comes from."
Teams from Finland, Sweden, Czechia, the U.S., and Canada will hit the ice at arenas in Petrolia, Forest, and Sarnia.
Perrin said while they placed a bid for the national tournament, Hockey Canada had other plans and offered up the world challenge.
"To have the honour of Hockey Canada coming to myself and the organization saying, hey we know what you guys can do, we want to trust you with this event is a huge honour," he said.
Perrin said volunteers wishing to assist with the event from ushers, to ticket takers and security will be able to register online through Tourism Sarnia-Lambton's website and Hockey Canada.
He said the experience will also include a FanFest, featuring games, activities, trophies, and hall of fame displays.
Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday, September 10.
Prices range from $210 to $265 for adults, and from $140 to $175 for kids.
Full tournament packages will also be available, and Sarnia Sting season ticket holders will be offered a pre-sale opportunity.
