What Will The Canada Winter Games Bring Us
When the Canada Winter Games are over and we begin the process of looking at what the Games accomplished for this city , we might want to look back at the Olympics in Vancouver for that answer.
Leading into the Olympics in Vancouver we were constantly told that the revenue being generated was front and center. I recall an advertisement talking about some company manufacturing sweaters in the Kootenays as just an example of the kind of benefits that were being enjoyed.
The Premier of the province Gordon Campbell and I got into it , when I suggested Prince George was not going to be a major benefactor of the Olympics and in fact I went so far as to suggest that it wouldn’t help Vancouver and BC.
I called Campbell at the end of the Games to tell him that indeed I was wrong, he was right and I would eat the crow. We may not have built the kind of revenue package that everyone was alluding to, but by God, the province suddenly got a dose of much needed pride, and Vancouver suddenly became the place to be after all of that publicity.
While that may be a long way of leading into this comment , it is my feeling that the Canada Winter Games has instilled a new sense of pride in this community. Oh there are detractors, as there always is , but by and large what Prince George will bring from these Games is a pride in community and it has been showing this past week in what the participants from other Canadian communities have been saying about us.
We have great facilities, just ask the participants, we have great accommodations, shopping , restaurants , and with a little help from somewhere above, we also enjoy some pretty good weather all and all.
So what will the games bring? Well we should have known that the young athletes don’t arrive at these venues with a pocket full of cash , the parents for the most part who have been fronting their children’s participation don’t have pockets of cash , so what should we expect?
In the case of the Olympics many of these athletes are already enjoying six figure sponsorship and are accompanied by support staff who also are earning the big bucks.
The Canada Winter Games are different.
Despite the fact that some of the major TV outlets from the lower mainland , in particular Global, who keep referring to us as a ‘mill town that needs help’ and these same announcers who suggest that it must be awful to survive in -4 degree temperatures, the people arriving from other parts of Canada have been in awe of our weather and above all, our hospitality. Trust me you don’t get that kind of welcome in the “big City”.
So what’s the upshot of the Games? Well look for a new feeling of pride by our citizens , those people that make this a great community and then look for the several thousand people who came to our city talking to their friends and neighbors about what a great place Prince George is.
It is only then that we will realize that the money for the games was well spent.
I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
Comments
I am curious at how much debt is going to be handed back to we the proud citizens of PG?
CWG claims they are on budget.. what exactly does that mean?
Does it mean they knew they were going to go in the whole and yes they are and just what they expected?
or does it mean when all is said and done they won’t be handing a bill to the city to pay off?
I think there is a big bill coming….
Without question a big bill will be arriving! All will be gone by then,
Ben M we will pay you to get the full scoop now! Tons of tax payers money could of been spent on our roads instead
20142015, fortunately you are not the only tax payer.
What a great event for our city. I am sure we will never know all the prosperity the games have brought to Prince George but the community pride is evident. The young people of our country are truly inspiring!
For you nay sayers: Put your cars away, walk down to the village and take in the excitement. You won’t be disappointed!
Seen a kid urinating in the doorway of a 5th Ave business last night. That was top notch.
More than likely one of PGs kids that would have been doing that anyway! I agree with Nicky Glasses, that you only need to go and check out some or all of the venues. You will be inspired by these kids, parents, and volunteers that are all around you! Then all you have to do is strike up a conversation with anybody around you! Fantastic……..
I think that we can all agree that the Winter Games were a big success for the athletes participating, their coaches, managers, and families. These people travelled far, and worked hard. Further more the volunteers did a great job, to make these games a success, without them there would be no games. So from that perspective we had a great success.
Will it make any difference to the City of Prince George over the long haul? Highly unlikely. We need only to look at our memories of the Winter Games in White Horse Yukon in 2007, Bathurst NB in 2003, or Grande Prairie Ab in 1995 to see how quickly we forget these types of events. If we forget, then we can be sure that other people forget also. Red Deer Ab has already set up some committee’s and hired a CEO to look after the Winter games in their town in 2019. I we shouldn’t forget that Winnipeg will host the summer games in 2017.
So the focus is already shifting from Prince George to Winnipeg and Red Deer, and they will now be the focus of all the attendant hoopla that goes with these games. Prince George will fade into the shadows like the other previous host of these games. That’s just the way it is.
So the question then comes down to the cost of the games and the boost to the economy. To get these numbers correct we need to have an independent analysis done. I doubt if this would happen.
In any event with the exception of a few hotels/motels/restaurants in the downtown area, along with the bars, and entertainment people, I think it would be a fair statement to say that for the rest of the Cities hotels and restaurants, and the retail industry, these games were an unmitigated disaster, from a financial point of view.
Many motels had empty rooms, and many restaurants had no customers. Seems our best customers from the outlying areas ie; Vanderhoof, Ft St James, Burns Lake, MacKenzie, Quesnel, etc; etc; stayed away for these two weeks,.
In addition many people rented out their houses and took their kids on vacation, so those taking vacation offset many of the people that came to town. Moving the school break to coincide with the games in my opinion didn’t actually help the games at all.
If Prince George hopes to host other big events, then they had better determine what went wrong with the food and accommodation business so that the wealth is more fairly distributed next time around.
I believe these games were over-hyped to businesses in PG, but I don’t believe it was a negative event for our community to host. As Palopu says, it will fade into time, and people will forget where it was hosted in 2015.
We need to remember, we were chosen to host this event over Kamloops and Kelowna. It was an honour to have the games here, and in the long-run people may forget about the games but we’ve also proven to Canada we can host large-scale events. Also, I’m sure we’ve debunked some stereotypes with our balmy February.
I spent about a week in SunPeaks – people always ask where you’re from, and when I said Prince George, they didn’t know where it was, and they didn’t know we were hosting the Canada Winter games – and this is people from Alberta, Kamloops, Vancouver, and back east. I didn’t expect the Australians to know. So as far as showing Canada what we can do, it would only be the part of Canada that came here to participate, the rest just don’t care about this event – hence the low priority TV coverage.
I think our main benefit is – Otway is a much better facility – and likely more high profile nordic events will be held there, because it really is one of, if not the best facility in Western Canada – so people will travel here to compete there.
Kin 1 – is a much improved facility, that will probably enable us to hold some better hockey and figure skating events – that will draw some people.
No one will drive past Big White, Whistler, Sun Peaks, to go to Tabor or Purden Ski hill. They are what they are. Little hills, with slow chairs, and no decent apres ski facilities. The one ski hill we do have, that would have made an impression with it’s unparalleled powder – did not participate in the Winter Games, so no boost from that corner.
We might pick up some university students, as these athletes see what a cool place PG can be, and choose much more affordable UNBC over say McGill.
Whether the two week party was worth the 4 years of extra property taxes people had to pay, depends on point of view. If you don’t care about sports, you’d wish they spent it on roads, if you do care about sports, you wish they’d spent more.
And keep in mind, a good chunk of the revenue from these games, is coming from people who live here, so it’s not like we got a huge infusion of outside cash.
Probably one of the biggest positives I saw, is how the First Nations jumped on board, showing I think solidarity with those of us who live in the North, and showing that they are proud Canadians as well. That alone might have been worth the cost, because when everyone else goes home, the First Nations and us, will still be here, working to send taxes East and South.
I don’t think that you can compare the winter games to the Olympics which is an international event. Time will tell.
Cheers
@ski51,
Your comments about the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation as hosts was and is the biggest single factor in why Prince George won the bid over Kelowna and Kamloops. This is a big thanks to former Mayor, Dan Rogers who was instrumental in getting Lheidli T’enneh Nation on board for the bid. It is kinda sad to say, that it is the first time a FN is being recognized as a host first nation for these games, will that continue? It obviously should, what better way to foster relationships with one another through sports? Yes, there have been instances where ignorance and racism play out in sports in this country, there is a long way to go to mend that relationship. This is a good way to start down that road of treating each other with patience, respect and dignity. The Lheidli T’enneh Pavilion has played to some amazing talent of musicians, actors, actresses and dancers, that sadly, alot of folks within PG have not taken in to see. Yeah, the times of these talented acts is not favourable, during work hours or relatively late in the evening, to coincide with the City pavilion acts and fireworks, but, nonetheless worthy of seeing. It is great to see the downtown area, albeit, the civic centre and immediate area, alive with the buzz of the games.Time will tell if these games will pay off for the PG area.
The games have been great, we all will be paying for them, even the guy in northern Labrador who pays federal taxes.. We will have debt no matter what they say, that’s why we pay extra city taxes right now..
I have stopped complaining about the cost and decided to take advantage of the games being here by attending as much as I can. They are great, lots of spills and thrills. Bc won a great hockey game last night over NB. Heading up to watch some indoor sports today..
The games will never be back here so have a few choices.. Take advantage of the fact and get out and take in some events… Or complain the entire time they are here and find fault in everything related to the games..and stuff not ;)
Go BC Go :)
Went through the Lheidli T’enneh Pavilion last week, and took in the history of them in the area, found it very interesting. Will go again this week just to browse before it all disappears.
That’s great to read, Palopu. The Lheidli T’enneh Artisan Pavilion has got some great displays, showcasing their history and culture, which I forgot to mention. To go along with some great arts and crafts booths and food to chow down on, while taking in the good atmosphere, cheers…
P Val, ur right, everything has a cost, good on you taking in some events, might as well enjoy it while we got it…
Ben hit it right on the head & on cue the usual group of 250News naysayers hit their keyboards. What part of ” intangible” did those decrying the costs not understand? For you moaning & whining about the CWG get of your butts & go see what the hype is about, you may be pleasantly surprised. To those who have made these games what they are…Thank you. All I have seen has been great, unfortunately work has prevented me from participating more.
Ski50, good thing PK was not showcased, the glaring lack of powder this year has been frustrating, but the trip north to such a beautiful location is still worth it. I sometimes forget how lucky we are to have all of this in our backyards.
Went to watch two events today, there was people selling tickets at each.. $5 to get in.. Free for kids 2 and under.
I think the showing of community pride is the big thing to take out the games. If the folks in PG can sustain that momentum and use it as a springboard to improve other areas of the city, then something great will have been accomplished.
Events like these aren’t just about getting more hotel rooms booked or meals purchased, they are also about helping to change a culture and getting the city comfortable with challenging themselves while continuing to grow and improve. If PG wants to grow, it has to have the right attitude. Speaking from the other side of the country, I’m very happy to see that so many people in my home town have embraced that spirit and are taking a step forward. Keep at it!
I couldn’t agree more with P Val and NMG. Let’s make the best of this time and at least show our visitors we’re not all a bunch of grumbling pessimists.
Looking at only the revenue coming into the restaurants and hotels (not all the hotel revenue stays here anyways) is missing the forest for the trees, and we’re a forestry town ;)
P Val and NMG are dead on. Get out there and have some fun, there’s a week left!
The posters who were negative before the games are still negative. Reminds me of this story:
They tell the tale of two dogs.
Both dogs, at separate times, walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling.
A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors.
The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him. What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.
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