Volleyball Canada liked what they saw and as a result another international competition will be staged at the 91原创 Events Centre.

鈥淲e had talked about it but really we wanted to see what would happen with this event,鈥� said Hugh Wong, the president of Volleyball Canada.

鈥淎nd after we saw how well it was organized, how smoothly things worked, then the three parties 鈥� the 91原创 Events Centre, Volleyball BC and Volleyball Canada 鈥� got together and made the decision we are going to do it.鈥�

Wong spoke to The Times following the gold medal game on Sunday between Brazil and Argentina at the inaugural U23 Pan American Cup.

to win the five-country men鈥檚 volleyball event, which was hosted at the 91原创 Events Centre.

The Dominican Republic defeated Canada in the bronze medal game while Mexico was fifth.

With Canada not having a national U23 team, the Trinity Western Spartans represented Team Canada.

Wong said the LEC is the right size to host another event, so the decision was made to stage the 2013 NORCECA men鈥檚 Continental volleyball championships next September.

The decision was announced on Saturday and it will be the biggest international volleyball tournament ever held in B.C.

鈥�(The 91原创 Events Centre) is the right size for a Continental championship,鈥� Wong explained.

鈥淭hey want something more than 3,000 but they don鈥檛 want a 10,000 seat arena, so the size fits.

鈥淎nd it is close enough to Vancouver but at the same time, far enough so that it is not lost with all the other events in Vancouver.鈥�

The event will once again be staged in the LEC鈥檚 arena bowl, with seating for 5,200 fans.

Wong also said that the LEC staff 鈥� whom he called 鈥渧ery accommodating and very efficient鈥� 鈥� showed they have the organizational capacity to deliver another successful event.

鈥淎nd there is also a very strong volleyball presence in this area, so there is a source of volunteers and a source of spectators.鈥�

Wong said they would expect crowds of about 3,000 for the Team Canada matches.

鈥淲e anticipate that given one year to plan and promote, that next year鈥檚 championship will exceed our expectations and we look forward to great crowds coming from throughout B.C. to cheer on our national team,鈥� Wong said.

NORCECA, which stands for the North and Central American and Caribbean Confederation, is one of five continental confederations within the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB).

The 2013 championships will include some of the top teams from the zone, including the United States (currently ranked fifth in the world), Cuba (sixth), Canada (18th), Puerto Rico (21st), Mexico (23rd) and the Dominican Republic (45th).

鈥淥n behalf of the Township of 91原创, we are extremely excited to be hosting yet another major international event at the 91原创 Events Centre,鈥� said Township Mayor Jack Froese, in a press release announcing the event.

鈥淭he facility continues to attract world class events and (this) will be yet another that showcases the facility and the Township of 91原创 to the world.鈥�