BCLions.com Staff
VANCOUVER — The BC Lions Football Club and Tourism Vancouver announced today that last November’s Grey Cup Festival and Championship resulted in an economic impact in excess of $118 million for the province of British Columbia.
BC Lions owner David Braley originally secured the rights to host the 99th Grey Cup back in 2009, just four years after hosting a bar-setting 2005 Grey Cup celebration. The narrow window of hosting Canada’s biggest single-day sporting event would be a monumental task and Braley along with club president and CEO Dennis Skulsky wasted little time appointing prominent local businessman and Lions supporter Moray Keith as committee chair as well as Scott Ackles as general manager.
“Two years in the making, and a direct result of both volunteer efforts of hundreds of British Columbians and the cooperation of all levels of government, the 99th Grey Cup Championship and Festival was a tremendous success,” said Lions president and CEO Dennis Skulsky. “On behalf of our owner, Senator David Braley and our entire organization, I offer our sincere thanks to everyone who made the 2011 Grey Cup the best our country has seen. We were proud hosts and we are grateful champions.”
“When we announced back in March 2009 that Vancouver would play host to the 99th Grey Cup Championship, we knew that it would be another enormous and rewarding undertaking,” said Moray Keith, 2011 Grey Cup Festival Chair. “This report from Tourism Vancouver is something all British Columbians should take great pride in celebrating.”
A celebration of Canadian sport, arts and culture that unites the nation each year, the 2011 Grey Cup Festival ran from November 24th through the 27th and played host to 130,000 fans of which 33% came from outside the province, making more than 290,000 visits to official and associated events including the Grey Cup Parade, Vanier Cup, and Grey Cup game.
“On behalf of all British Columbians, I would like to thank Grey Cup organizers and volunteers for making the 99th annual celebration such a success,” said BC Premier Christy Clark. “It was a remarkable opportunity to showcase our province and will help us tremendously in our goal to create and protect jobs across B.C.”
“Sporting events like the Grey Cup and sport tourism play a key role in sustaining our economy by drawing visitors from Canada and all over the world to B.C. communities,” said Hon. Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. “This helps local businesses thrive and the B.C. families whose jobs depend on them.”
These record-setting economic Grey Cup numbers also resulted in the creation of more than 800 jobs and almost $18 million in taxes collected at various levels of government. Total direct spending by visitors was just under $43 million and the total number of overnight visitors hit 59,005.
“$118 million in economic impact shows that Vancouver has even more to celebrate after hosting Grey Cup 2011 than just a big win for the BC Lions,” said Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver. “Building upon the strong economic legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic games, we were thrilled to welcome fans from across Canada to our beautiful city once again and to showcase all that Vancouver has to offer as a destination.”
“We owe a great deal of thanks to all of the Grey Cup’s organizers, supporters, and fans for making this event such a remarkable success, both for sports fans and for our local economy.”
“Tourism Vancouver offers its congratulations to the entire BC Lions organization,” said Rick Antonson, President and CEO. “By every standard, Grey Cup 2011 was a tremendous success and left a lasting legacy of goodwill, pride and positive media coverage for our city.”
The Grey Cup game itself was sold out on July 20th, 2011; just 30 days after tickets went on sale, a record for Vancouver-staged Grey Cup games. Played before a capacity crowd at the recently refurbished BC Place, television numbers indicated that more than 11 million Canadians or one-third of the country’s population tuned in for part of or all the game.
The hometown Lions emerged victorious defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-23 to claim their sixth title and second in front of a home crowd.
“The main reason for renovating BC Place was to expand its ability to contribute to the British Columbia economy, and superbly accommodate the really big events that excite the imagination, like the Grey Cup,” said David Podmore, Chair of the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo). “In the few short months since reopening, BC Place has become a new focus for Downtown Vancouver, and we’re pleased that it’s already begun fulfilling its role as an even-greater economic generator for all British Columbians.”
