The 111th Grey Cup Festival is turning downtown Vancouver into a party zone, and with it, bringing in tens of thousands of tourists.
Past Grey Cups have pulled in tens of millions in economic spin-offs for host regions, and Vancouver’s businesses are hoping for the same this weekend.
Pat Mager with Sport Tourism Canada shares that tourists will be shopping, buying merchandise, and staying in hotels.
“They’re going to be going to Team parties and probably consuming tons of beer, all which create positive impact for the host city,” he told 1130 NewsRadio.
Not knowing which teams may end up in the Cup, Mager says huge amounts of people book their trips to the host city well in advance, “which is a very unique sporting property anywhere in the world, really.”
Sunday’s Grey Cup match kicks off at BC Place at 3 p.m. PT between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Toronto Argonauts.
While Mager won’t give a set projection about the economic boost, he explains Vancouver is set to reap the benefits. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim made an optimistic prediction of a $100 million injection.
“It’s really promising to be the biggest and best Grey Cup Festival ever. I mean, they got zip lines running across the Inner Harbour. They’ve got street performances and concerts, as well as all the traditional team parties,” Mager shared.
Grey Cup to takeover downtown Vancouver — what that means for you
And with the festival comes big changes to downtown Vancouver this weekend.
Drivers, commuters, and transit riders should all be prepared for Grey Cup-related road closures.
“There will be a lot of closures going on in and around BC Place. A few of them are around Canada Place, as well,” 1130 NewsRadio traffic anchor Alex Carrigan explained.
“There’s going to be a lot of foot traffic moving in through BC Place, so please be mindful of that. Smythe and Nelson streets are going to remain open. The Cambie Street Bridge is going to be okay, but there will be some closures on West Georgia to worry about,” he added.
Carrigan presses that moving around BC Place will be a challenge starting Friday.
“Canada Place is closed from Thurlow to Howe, and then Thurlow and Burrard both closed from Cordova Street up to Canada Place.
“A bit closer to the arena, Robson is closed from Cambie Street to Beatty Street. Beatty closed from Smithe to West Georgia, and Cambie closed from Smithe to West Georgia, as well.”
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–With files from Cole Schisler.