While the Kitchener Rangers may have captured the Memorial Cup championship on Sunday, Kelowna emerged victorious.
Thousands of visitors hit the Central Okanagan town during the 10-day tournament, providing an early boost to tourism and local businesses ahead of the peak summer season.
“It feels like summer has arrived early,” said Omar D’Souza, owner of Parlor Ice Cream. “We’re just at the end of May, and these days already feel like peak summer on many days.”
The owners of The Train Station Pub also reported a significant increase in business during the hockey event.
“Forty percent, that’s incredible,” said Rhonda Lindsay, one of the pub owners.
“This is a way to really showcase Kelowna, the way we want it to be and help people understand what Kelowna has to offer. Not only do we have two months of great weather, we are a place to visit all year round.”
Although most of the crowd has dispersed and downtown has returned to calm, the city estimates their economic impact will be at least $23 million, likely greater based on previous Memorial Cup events elsewhere.
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“It’s over $40 million,” said Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas. “We know that the CHL, working with the city and also Tourism Kelowna, will be studying this and we will have the data back in early fall to tell us where the issues lie.”
Tourism Kelowna also reported a record 30,000 visitors to its visitor information center in May, a figure officials largely attributed to the Memorial Cup.
“It was great to see such a contingent from places like Kitchener,” said Cassandra Zerebeski, CEO of Tourism Kelowna. “There are families traveling with friends and relatives visiting the community.”
For local businesses who rely on tourism, the success of this tournament is seen as a major achievement.
“Thank you for attending,” said Lindsay, reacting to the city’s efforts to host the event. “This is what Kelowna needs.”
Dyas said there are a number of big events coming to Kelowna in the next few months.
He added that the city is currently in negotiations to bring another large event to the city this fall, but could not say what event and would only describe it as a significant event.
“Through our economic prosperity, what we’re trying to do is create opportunities that are available during the off season,” Dyas said.
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