The city and province announced Tuesday that Edmonton would host a unique extreme sporting event in 2015.

Ahead of the official announcement, President and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Brad Ferguson tweeted Tuesday morning that the Red Bull Crashed Ice will be landing in Edmonton in 2015.

The announcement was officially made at a news conference held later in the day.

“Edmonton is one of Canada’s truly great winter cities,” City Councillor Amarjeet Sohi said in a press release. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for winter with the world.

“Red Bull Crashed Ice celebrates our city’s love of winter sports and our commitment to bringing world-class events to our city.”

The tour brings together professional and amateur skaters from around the world, competing on a steep canal filled with bumps, jumps and obstacles. The skaters can reach speeds of 70 kph as they careen down the track to win a spot in the final.

The city said the event is heading to Edmonton after the City of Edmonton, Provincial Government, Edmonton Tourism and Edmonton Destination Hotels.

The City of Edmonton is putting $400,000 to the event’s total cost, while the province is contributing $300,000 – meanwhile Edmonton Destination Hotels will put forward $200,000 and Travel Alberta is covering $100,000.

As for the canal’s route, there is no official word on where the course would be, but some speculation suggests it would start on Jasper Avenue, near the Shaw Conference Centre, and wind down into the River Valley, with a possible end point in Louise McKinney Park.

In addition, the event is expected to attract tens of thousands of people.

“The estimate of numbers is something in excess of 60,000, and that’s a conservative estimate,” Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation Richard Starke said. “[The event is expected to have] an economic impact of somewhere between $6 and $8 million.”

It’s not clear if Edmonton will host the finals, or become a stop on the circuit – this year, the event had stops in the United States, Finland and Russia, before the finals in Quebec City.

As for the date, that information will be released along with the schedule in the fall of 2014 – it’s believed the event could be held in March 2015.

With files from Veronica Jubinville