Games will help city money numbers
Kamloops’ event numbers will hold steady in 2013 with a little help from 4,000 participants at the B.C. Seniors Games, which will be held in August.
Sean Smith, the city’s Tournament Capital program co-ordinator, said he expects this year’s numbers will be on track with 2012, when Kamloops hosted 110 events with 25,843 participants.
Smith estimates the events had an $11.4-million economic impact on the city — based on the assumption each event participant spends about $125 per day while in Kamloops.
That’s down slightly from 2011, when the city hosted 109 events with 27,878 people and an estimated spin-off of $11.8 million.
But, Smith noted, 2011 had a number of larger events that boosted attendance numbers, including the Western Canada Summer Games.
The event number doesn’t include partial-day events, Kamloops Blazers and Kamloops Storm hockey games or regular league play in minor hockey and soccer.
“We do look at when those groups host tournaments, but when they’re just hosting league games, we don’t count that,” Smith said.
“I know my nephew plays hockey and he’ll play Prince George on Saturday and then again on Sunday, so, technically, they’ve been here for two days, but it’s not really a tournament.”
Smith’s economic-impact figure doesn’t take into account money event organizers spend planning or hosting their tournaments — and he believes the $125 per day figure may be somewhat low.
“We’ve been using that figure for about nine years now and, about that long ago, they estimated that the average sport participant in the large cities was spending $165 per day in the Vancouvers and Torontos and the Calgarys,” he said.
The city went with a slightly lower dollar figure as an acknowledgement of Kamloops’ smaller size.
“We’re not wanting to inflate our numbers just to inflate them, but it probably is time we raised that average spending,” Smith said.
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