Skyball 8 CANCELLED

[Jeffy-CanCon]

(From 68caliber.com)

Skyball 8 cancelled
By Dale Ford
Feb 21, 2005, 15:23

According to XO Industries, this year's Skyball event has been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is due to new ownership of the Skydome – “not due to lack of team interest as has been alleged elsewhere” sources stated. The Skydome's new owners have renamed it the "Rogers Centre", in honor of its' new corporate owner, Rogers Communications. Sources state that the new owners have decided to give the Skydome a facelift, which in turn has affected the event.

A source close to X.O. Industries dropped the bombshell this afternoon. Skyball has been around for 7 seasons, and Skyball 8 was to feature a $100,000 first prize for the Open Class Division, and a young guns division had also been added. It's one of the more popular events to for teams to attend due to the luxury accommodations at the hotel on-site, and the Hard Rock Cafe` overlooking the fields.

A phone call to Gino Perrone of XO Industries verified that this years Skyball event has been cancelled. Gino stated that the reason for the cancellation was due to a crane in the Rogers Centre floor, which is being used to work on the roof, and the Jumbotron, that would not be able to be moved in time for the event.

Mr. Perrone, who sounded very upset during the course of the conversation, noted that X.O. Industries had spent a lot of time and money in organizing this year's event and that it was frustrating to have it cancelled because of the ongoing renovations to the Rogers Centre.

Rogers Communications will be issuing a letter to the teams that registered for the event and to the press indicating the issues that prevented this year's event from happening. They immediately offered another date to X.O. Industries, but the only one currently available is in January 2006.

The information regarding the acquisition of the Skydome can be read here, and the letter will be published on 68Caliber.Com in its' entirety once it's made available to the press.


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Rogers Center Guest Services
416-341-3034

Public Relations
416-341-3291

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Someone has started a petition, but I doubt it will do any good:

Save Skyball Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/skyball/petition.html

[jamescell]

ohh wow, time to find an alternative venue?

[SlartyBartFast]

Move it to Montreal!

Probably a lot cheaper and they need more activities at the Olympic Stadium. :clap:

But, it seems fishy. The purchase of the Skydome isn't that new, the Skydome should have been subject to cancellation fines, and the Skyball8 website has been unchanged for a LONG time.

Me thinks there were other problems..... :ninja:

[Eric Cartman]

D'oh! That blows. That's about the only chance I get to buy paintball gear at a decent price. I was looking forward to picking up a few things. Oh well. :(

[lopxtc]

Hell yeah :) ... play some klller games and then spend the night on Saint Catherines drinking and hitting the strip clubs :)

Hell I'd just be floating between Mad Hatters and the irish pub across the street from it. Only place in Montreal I could find Tartan.

Aaron


Move it to Montreal!

[Lohman446]

(From 68caliber.com)
According to XO Industries, this year's Skyball event has been cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is due to new ownership of the Skydome – “not due to lack of team interest as has been alleged elsewhere” sources stated.

I expect it had a lot to do with lack of team interest - normally if they state it wasn't this reason, this reason turns out to have been a factor.

[Creative Mayhem]

This sucks... I like heading down to the 'Dome for some beverages and some ball, oh well...


FYI, there really is a crane on the floor and it cannot be moved anytime soon. How do I know this? A family friend is the crane operator.

[RainTreeBoy]

Someone has started a petition, but I doubt it will do any good:

Save Skyball Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/skyball/petition.html
Yes, as seen from many other online petitions such as the "Stop Ashlee Simpson" one, this will definetely work. I wonder why people even bother with those anymore.

Anyways, I've never been to skyball nor have any intention of going any time soon, but it is a disappointment to hear that it had to be cancelled because of this.

[Muzikman]

Skyball has always been a fun time. In a way I am glad it is canceled...that means I will not miss it again this year:)

[Creative Mayhem]

Skyball has always been a fun time. In a way I am glad it is canceled...that means I will not miss it again this year:)


hahah yeah, Adam, Pug and I missed yah last year.

[mag88888]

can you say vermont :rolleyes:

[SlartyBartFast]

Hell I'd just be floating between Mad Hatters and the irish pub across the street from it.

While you can find Tartan in many other pubs in Montreal besides Hurley's, I hope you tried some of the Home Brew at Brutopia.

Not that I'm biased because my family owns a share in the place.....

But not only is it REALLY good beer, it's the cheepest beer on Crescent St. :D

[BigBadBeDDy]

:cry: this makes me a sad panda

[Muzikman]

Problem with Montreal is you guys don't like us english speaking folk;)

First time I was ever to Montreal I went with some people from the Toronto area and I was shocked at how rude the locals were to their fellow Canadians.

[lopxtc]

You know in the 3 1/2 months I was there I never made it there. Most of the time I spent drinking at the "Cock and Bull" since I had a ton of good friends there. Went the Jell-o Bar now and then when a good band was playing, or to Hurleys (couldnt remember the name) when I want to here some good Irish jig music playing.

Okay man I miss Montreal now ... I was staying on Peel street so I was pretty much in the center of all the areas I wanted to hit for night life. Thankfully avoided the Peel Pub as often as I could ... :)

I'll have to hit you up the next time I am in Montreal and check out this place with ya.

Aaron


While you can find Tartan in many other pubs in Montreal besides Hurley's, I hope you tried some of the Home Brew at Brutopia.

Not that I'm biased because my family owns a share in the place.....

But not only is it REALLY good beer, it's the cheepest beer on Crescent St. :D

[Eric Cartman]

Problem with Montreal is you guys don't like us english speaking folk;)

First time I was ever to Montreal I went with some people from the Toronto area and I was shocked at how rude the locals were to their fellow Canadians.

How long ago was that? Wondering if it was during another push to separate. I went out there when I was 18 and experienced some rudeness (but not a lot). That was in 1988. The last time I went (2002?) everyone was great. I'm looking forward to going back, hopefully in the summer this time. Montreal is great!

[SlartyBartFast]

Problem with Montreal is you guys don't like us english speaking folk;)

First time I was ever to Montreal I went with some people from the Toronto area and I was shocked at how rude the locals were to their fellow Canadians.

Depends how you're behaving.

The general barely 18 louts who cruise the bars and strip clubs and get drunk and insult the locals deserve VERY little respect. ;)

They knind of prove there's a reason the rest of the country has a higher legal drinking age. :rofl:

As an anglophone growing up in Montreal it was VERY rare that I found genuinely rude or obnoxious francophones. Yet, many of my friends did. I think it has more to do with YOUR attitude and behaviour than theirs.

I've stepped in to help more than one lost tourist who was really just getting what they deserved since the interaction with a local had degenerated from the local trying to be helpful into the visitor figuring if they kept speaking english the local would eventually "get it". Or worse, the attitude of the visitor was "why the hell can't you speak English?".

Really the same reason people also have different experiences touring Europe in non-English areas.

But with respect to having a major tournamnet in Montreal, If the cash and huge pirize packages weren't that important to the majority of players, an event could be held for probably a less than a third of what the Skyball costs were.

Guess we might need an new winter event to replace Skyball. If XO doesn't anounce next year's event, we'll know it wasn't Rogers Cable's fault the event was trashed.

[Muzikman]

How long ago was that? Wondering if it was during another push to separate. I went out there when I was 18 and experienced some rudeness (but not a lot). That was in 1988. The last time I went (2002?) everyone was great. I'm looking forward to going back, hopefully in the summer this time. Montreal is great!

This was in 95. I have been there a few times for work since and everthing was cool, or as cool as the french speaking Candians can be;) Since the company I worked for was HQed out of the Montreal area most of the people I delt with were from there. Some were great people, others left something to be desired, but I won't blame the fact that they were French Canadian for that.

I would actually like to get to Montreal and do some sight seeing. The last few times I was there was all short business trips.

[SlartyBartFast]

Any new rumours/information?