Residents of the Manitoba capital aren’t known to parade around like peacocks, but we’re getting some serious love from a number of high-profile sports organizations these days.

First of all, Winnipeg was chosen as one of six Canadian cities to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup – the largest sporting event for women in the world – next June and July. We didn’t land the much coveted group of competitors in the highly ranked Canadian team, but we probably got the next best thing. How does the so-called Group of Death – featuring the two-time champion and world No. 1 U.S.; Australia (ranked No. 10); and Sweden and Nigeria, both of which have qualified for all seven FIFA Women’s World Cups – sound?

Winnipeg also will host matches featuring Germany, Japan, China, New Zealand, Thailand and Ecuador. The other host cities are Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. I don’t know how many fans from Down Under will make the trek to Winnipeg, but you can bet thousands of Americans will be making a run for the border to cheer for the Red, White and Blue.

Every game will be held at Investors Group Field, the new home of the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and organizers fully expect every one of the 40,000 seats – expanded from its usual capacity of 33,500 – to be filled for every game.

As the biggest sporting event to hit Winnipeg since the Pan Am Games in 1999, millions of dollars are expected to be spent on hotels and taxis and in restaurants, pubs and shops. In between games, many soccer fans are likely to take in the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, too.

But that’s not only the only major event coming here. Plans are underway to host the 2015 Grey Cup, essentially a week-long party for fans of Canadian football from across the country.

Sure, Blue Bombers president Wade Miller will be praying for a chinook to sweep across the Prairies that week; but, even if there’s a deep freeze, my guess is most fans won’t even notice that parts of their faces have fallen off.

But the event that has the biggest segment of the Winnipeg population abuzz – hockey fans, of course – is the outdoor National Hockey League (NHL) game that is widely expected to be held here, possibly as early as next season.

Neither the Winnipeg Jets nor the NHL have confirmed anything, but it’s a poorly kept secret that the NHL would like to see such an event held here. The Jets have been openly and not so openly lobbying to host an outdoor game, dubbed the Heritage Classic in Canada and the Winter Classic south of the border, as they are huge marketing opportunities for the team and city.

There’s also a rumour that the Jets would unveil a third jersey for such a game, a throwback uniform to their first season in 1972, when Bobby Hull was the marquee attraction. Now, that would be a hot seller.

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