St. Louis loses out to Buffalo as host city for 2018 World Junior Championships hockey tourney

Buffalo has been chosen as the host city for the 2018 World Junior Championships tournament, winning the bid over finalists St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

“On behalf of the St. Louis Blues and in conjunction with the St. Louis Sports Commission, I would like to personally thank everyone involved in our bid to host the 2018 World Junior Championship in St. Louis,” said Chris Zimmerman, Blues President and CEO of Hockey Operations. “Although we have fallen short in our goal to bring this world class event to the Heartland of Hockey, we have succeeded in creating a lasting and profoundly positive impression with USA Hockey that will reap rewards in the future.

“We are immensely proud of the teamwork, talent and passion that was displayed in this effort by the staff of the St. Louis Blues, the staff of the St. Louis Sports Commission, our local hospitality and corporate partners as well as our civic leaders and friends.”

USA Hockey will make the formal announcement at 2 p.m. Friday at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium. The news conference will be aired live on the NHL Network.

A source told The Associated Press that the 2018 World Juniors will include an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. The majority of the tourney will be played at the Buffalo Sabres’ arena, First Niagara Center.

Buffalo also hosted the World Junior Championships in 2011. The New York city’s bid may have been aided by geography since it is only a two-hour drive from thousands of hockey-intense fans in Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "St. Louis loses out to Buffalo as host city for 2018 World Junior Championships hockey tourney."