Despite Canada playing the majority of their games at the world junior hockey championships in Vancouver, the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre says the tournament was still a win for the City of Victoria.
After the event wrapped up in Victoria on Wednesday, co-host GSL Group (operator of the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre) said the more than 90,000 hockey fans that came through its doors during the tournament had a big economic impact B次元官网网址� up to $10 million locally.
READ MORE:
The 17-day event saw hockey fans consume more than 40,000 hot dogs, 70,000 beers and 500,000 ounces of popcorn. GSL group estimates it answered more than 14,000 questions about the City of Victoria.
B次元官网网址淭he world juniors was another successful event for our venue and for the people of Victoria,B次元官网网址� said Dave Dakers, GSL sports and entertainment president.
B次元官网网址淲hen GSL Group originally thought about developing and operating a multi-purpose arena in Victoria, we knew that the presence of a first-class building in a world-class city B次元官网网址� would provide the city the opportunity to host events of this magnitude,B次元官网网址� said GSL Group President and CEO Graham Lee.
Keith Wells, Tourism VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 executive director of sport tourism, said the championships proved the city is capable of hosting large scale sporting events.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been more than 10 years since weB次元官网网址檝e had major games of any kind here at all in Victoria,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淕etting our legs under us that way and getting that network in place is really, really important for the things weB次元官网网址檙e going to do in the years coming.
B次元官网网址淲e can host an event like this and do a really good job and welcome the world and thatB次元官网网址檚 something we can leverage moving forward,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just a real benefit to the region to be able to enjoy being part of something international like this and celebrating it with the rest of CanadaB次元官网网址次元官网网址�
RELATED:
During its 13-year presence in Victoria, the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre has hosted a number of international events including the World Curling Championships, World Figure Skating Championships, Canada and USA womenB次元官网网址檚 hockey and more.
The City has plans to bid on other large sporting events such as the Invictus Games and the 2023 Memorial Cup.
The medal rounds for the tournament continue in Vancouver this weekend.
Like us on and follow us on .
