$70 million Grey Cup
If you are a fan of the CFL, then you know the Grey Cup is special. You can’t put a price on the joy of becoming Grey Cup champions. But, it transpires, you can put a price on the economic benefit of hosting the Grey Cup game.
The CFL have announced that the latest incarnation of the title game, “generated $67.8 million in economic activity in Canada, adding $25.7 million to Saskatchewan’s GDP, a new study by Sport Tourism Canada has found“.
The attendance for all Grey Cup events was 210,000, spanning six days of festival activities. One-third of all attendees travelled to Regina from outside the province in order to participate in the festivities.
Additional findings included:
- The event generated $19.6 million in tourism spending, with Regina welcoming 26,669 out-of-town visitors to the city.
- On average, $1,516 was spent per party attending the Grey Cup and Festival, including on accommodations, restaurants, entertainment and retail.
- 92% of out-of-town attendees stayed overnight in Regina during their visit, averaging a 3.5-night stay
- More than 8.2 million Canadians tuned in to parts of the 109th Grey Cup game on TSN and RDS – while some more of us watched from overseas!
A return to form
The $70 million Grey Cup reflected a continuing return to normality in the CFL. That return was double the $35 million economic boon Hmailton gelt after the 108th game.
That game had followed a truncated season, on the heels of a cancelled season. Post pandemic effects were still in full flow there. It was clear that having to cancel some of the events around the game, and reduce crowding, had impacted on the potential to make money.
Beyond a $70 million Grey Cup
But we are not all the way back yet. In 2018, the league was announcing an $81,146,423 economic impact for the 106th Grey Cup event in Edmonton. While pointing to increased media coverage.
The league will want to see the returns keep rising and getting back to pre pandemic levels. That way you will certainly attract more bidders to host future Grey Cup games.
For that, we will start in Hamilton. As they were given the chance to host again in 2023, under more normal circumstances.
They will be looking to double their money, and more. While the league will be looking for continued evidence of a revived economic background to their on field product.
Meanwhile, we won’t have the economics in mind but will be watching all the action unfold on the field and backing our teams to lay their hands on the old trophy.
As ever, it will be fun to see how it all plays out.
Banner Image: Mosaic Stadium, Regina hosts the $70 million Grey Cup in 2022. Image from sportingnews.com