Mary Jarbek, provincial representative for the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, says some restaurants won’t see any extra business until after the Games are over.

“The positive in this whole situation is the Games are actually going to bring in lots of money into our community and we’re going to see it over the long term, we may not see it right now. But over the long it’s going to be a big benefit for our community.”

==========================

Huh?????

Is she suggesting that the games are going to somehow result in a population or tourism boost large enough that restaurants will actually notice the increase and be able to attribute it to the games? That’s crazy talk IMHO.

If restaurants were going to notice a boost, I’d suggest it would have to be during the games themselves. My hunch is that the restaurants in the prime traffic locations or near hotels will see a bit of a boost, but those that are out of the way may not.

I think a HUGE contributor to the problem is PG’s downtown core. That is, there really isn’t a vibrant downtown core. There is no place for people to really wander around, check out shops, grab a coffee and then head to a pub or restaurant for dinner afterwards. Downtown PG is basically a “go there, grab what you need and get out” destination. It is not conducive to the type of social interactions that occur in other cities with vibrant downtowns. As a result, it’s much harder to see that multiplier. All you have to do is visit a place with a nice downtown to see the spinoff that a large concentration of people in a small area provides. PG isn’t built that way.

Not to mention the smell. Who wants to sit downtown and smell rotten eggs while they eat. This place will be nothing but a smelly mill town, regardless of what they do downtown to “revitalize” until the pulp mills relocate waaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of town or close down for good.

So Bent, with your youthful wisdom, if the pulp mills were to close down, how large would the population of Prince George be ? 20,000 ? 30,000 ?

We know that there are approx. 1700 athletes and coaches, plus family etc; for each group arriving. So that 3400 plus people. Plus we have approx. 4500 volunteers.

So the question is where are they eating. Well as far as I know the athletes eat at the Civic Centre (Athletes Village). The volunteers for the most part would grab something to eat wherever they are volunteering and then eat at home.

The coaches, and family etc; will be fed at the hotels/motels where they are staying. So if you can determine where they are staying ie; Inn of the North, Ramada, Casino, Sands, etc;, then these restaurants should have an uptick.

There were very few people who came in from out of town to see these games, and therefore their business is lost for the two weeks.

Wasn’t there a big ad telling us there was NO PARKING in the downtown core? And then they wonder why we are staying home?

I have seen no parking issues downtown. If you walk a block or two, you can easily find parking. My office is a few blocks from the civic centre and there is actually more parking than normal.

So come on down and enjoy the games. We put a lot of money into them and they are here now. I suspect few will regret going to see the sports, but many may realize later they really missed something big.

Have a great weekend!

Bent. Your funny. If relocated it will be way far away from town all right. I think the issue for you is you. Leave.

“So Bent, with your youthful wisdom, if the pulp mills were to close down, how large would the population of Prince George be ? 20,000 ? 30,000 ?” – Hardly youthful Harbinger, thought I would use your old alias, your style hasn’t changed only the moniker. My point was that as long as the town stinks, no one is ever going to think about being a tourist here, or relocating here because it is such a beautiful vibrant city. I wouldn’t expect the pulp mills to go anywhere or close so the thought that these games are going to cause a big influx of people is more than optimism, but downright lunacy. If anything more people now know how PG has no downtown lifestyle, stinks like rotten eggs, and the word will get out. I would expect less traffic through here because of the games, not more. Correct that, there will be more traffic THROUGH here, just not staying here.

“Bent. Your funny. If relocated it will be way far away from town all right. I think the issue for you is you. Leave.” – your right, and the plans have been in the works for a few years, retirement home already purchased and just waiting for next years retirement. Bye Bye.

The restaurants shot themselves in the foot, and the CWG have punished anyone who didn’t sponsor them. All the local dining joints have been warning us for weeks to ‘not bother coming during the games, it is going to be crazy’. Well, people stayed away and it backfired. Earls hasn’t been busy, Moxies is as quiet as always. I spoke to one small restaurant owner who said they never sponsored the games, and felt they were blackballed because of it.

So the restaurant owners told all their loyal customers not to come on down for two weeks, and we never. Funny how that works when they want you back.

@ Bent….see, if you added just a few words to your original post the long winded explanation wouldn’t have been required. And if you are a detective, its are darn good thing you are retiring.

I have been down town several times, walk a couple of blocks, no wait to eat, lots of excitement. You have to check it all out, this is a one time thing!

The hotels with restaurants that sponsored the Games are getting the majority of the business.

Its also interesting to note that the athletes and others are returned to the downtown centres, or to their hotels after their events, so in essence they are spending most of their time in that area. The rest of the town are seeing very little change in their business. In fact some are actually down.

Oh and NO smell.

Media did an awesome job hyping up the games for the restaurant services and downplayed the dining provided to all the participants catered to them three times a day free of charge paid by us /cwg

Only places rockin are restaurants that people can reach by foot
After an active day running around no way in hell would families go and taxi up to moxies or earls

Suggest everyone share there feedback the only way the city will learn from this
Hope they come out with there spending report breakdown earlier than later.

have left the curmudgeon den a couple times and went down to the civic plaza . parking a couple blocks away was not a problem because downtown was dead once you crossed 7th ave. I was wondering why the junk food vendors were set up in the plaza , thought these games were to promote a healthy lifestyle ? not to mention the business being taken from the restaurants within walking distance , the one’s paying the taxes to be here .

All provincial and territorial teams (athletes, coaches, trainers, etc) eat for free. The entire bottom floor of the Civic Centre is set up to feed them 3 meals per day. The same goes for volunteers, media, VIPs, etc. There are lounges setup for all of them at all the venues and they eat for free too. Most spectators are from town and they go home to eat. Only the out-of-towners will be eating in the restaurants and some of them are also staying at homes. The venues are being catered by local restaurants so they are seeing a huge increase in business. Just because there’s no one sitting in the restaurants doesn’t mean they’re not making any money.

I’ve been working downtown as a volunteer all week and having a great deal of fun. There’s lots to see and do. The athletes are wonderful to meet and greet. Their trading pins and they’re having a good time. There is lots of free parking downtown. You just have to look. The City Hall parking lot has been converted to Canada Games public parking and there’s always lots of space when I go down there. The buses are free too.

I have attended many of the sporting events. They’re always packed so get there early. It’s well worth it. I purchased a gold metal pass and it gets me into all of events so I don’t have to worry about purchasing tickets. You can still buy a week 2 pass that will get you into everything without having to worry about buying tickets. Worth every dime.

This is the largest Canadian sporting event in all of Canada and the only one that mimics the Olympics in the entire world so get out there and enjoy the opportunity before it passes you by. 45% of Canada Winter Games alumni make it to the Olympics so you have the potential to see and even meet a future Olympic athlete or better yet, another Sydney Crosby who is a CWG alumni.

My thoughts post. I think you better back up your facts. Volunteers media etc don t get hot meals
Juice box energy bar is all they get

20142015, you should read more carefully before you post stating someone (MyThoughts) should check their facts. MyThoughts is correct. Volunteers do eat for free- MyThoughts never said we were provided “hot” meals”. I’ve been volunteering for a solid week and never just received a juice box and energy bar. The lounge has sandwiches, wraps, bagels, juice boxes, puddings, granola bars, fruit, instant cup of soups, and oatmeal packages to make up. No, not luxury hot meals, but that’s okay. It’s enough to get through a quick break in the shift. I’m not volunteering for the free food- but for the free smiles.

Thanks Northern-resident. You are correct … only hot food is instant soup and oatmeal. Sandwiches are very good though. Fresh everyday. None of us volunteers are in it for any other reason other than for the athletes. It’s all about them 100%. Anything we can do to put a smile on their face and make this experience in PG the best!!!!

“your right, and the plans have been in the works for a few years, retirement home already purchased and just waiting for next years retirement. Bye Bye.”

Bent you have probably worked for a company or corporation that has provided services to our stinky pulpmills and refinery or its employees. Which in turn could very well have paid for some or all of that retirement home elsewhere along with affording your self and family(if you have one) a comfortable lifestyle while you worked and lived here. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya when you leave, and don’t forget your granola bars.