MMA trade show booted from Canadian city due to gang fears
The city of Abbotsford has delivered a blow to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The MMA Expo that…
The city of Abbotsford has delivered a blow to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
The MMA Expo that was due to hit Tradex on April 10 and 11 has been re-scheduled to take place in Vancouver.
A recent memo from Tradex to the event organizer and president, Gerald Chopik, cited the likelihood of rival gang member attendance at the event, as a potential risk to public safety.
Chopik said he was notified of the cancellation via email on Tuesday morning, only 20 days before the show was scheduled to take place.
I was dumbfounded. Totally dumbfounded, said Chopik, who had been in talks with Tradex for the past five months.
The expo is a consumer show for all things MMA, comparable to a boat show or a R.V. show, said Chopik. The Abbotsford event was advertising demonstration areas, tournaments, celebrity booths, workshops and products.
Since hearing of the cancellation, Chopik has begged and pleaded with the city to change their mind.
After speaking with Abbotsford Deputy Police Chief, Rick Lucy, Chopik was told the police felt the need to have half a dozen or more police attend the event – a move that Chopik called outrageous.
This will be our sixth year running this event, and we’ve never had a policeman have to come to one of our events, we’ve never had a problem. Families attend these events. This is not a real reason.
But Mayor George Peary stands behind the decision.
We don’t want there to be any doubt about our feeling on gangs. We don’t want them in this city. If this event is an attractor to some of these people … then it’s not going to happen here.
Peary cited the gangland hit of Todd Joseph Krantz in 2008, who was the owner of the World Extreme Fighting gym, on Clearbrook road as another reason for the decision.
He added that the contract to host the event at Tradex had not yet been signed.
According to Chopik the reason was due to a spelling error on behalf of Tradex. He said he would have signed it otherwise, but was under the impression that it was a done deal.
Now, people are pulling out of local hotels, local business will not be advertising at the event, and tourists won’t be shopping and eating locally.
This is creating a negative impact on Abbotsford. The future fall-out is going to be greater than just this. [Abbotsford] may lose tens of thousands of dollars in the short term, but in the long term they are going to lose even more in respect, reputation and image.
Peary replied, If this reinforces that our community has a commitment to being 100 per cent opposed to gangs and anything that interests them … then we are proud of that.
The event has officially been re-scheduled to take place at the PNE Forum, on the same dates.
Other suspected reasons for the ban include cannibals and aliens (NOT the good ones)
