Capitalizing On The Games Energy
Symphony in Fort George Park drew a huge summertime crowd. 250 News archive photo
Prince George, B.C. – For the past two weeks in Prince George residents and visitors alike have joined in one giant social celebration at the sporting and cultural events which have fallen under the umbrella of the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
People have witnessed the excitement provided by the competing athletes, enjoyed the widely varied entertainment provided around the city, struck up friendly conversations with absolute strangers, some of whom may now be friends. They enjoyed the food, venues, the unbelievably friendly, helpful and welcoming nature of the band of volunteers and all that Prince George has to offer. The energy created by the games has been evident each and every day, as has the obvious indication that people here like to get out and do things and will support them. The conclusion of the years-long process of putting on these games raises the question, how do we as a community proceed from here?
Mayor Lyn Hall is fully cognizant of the importance of this moment in time in the history of Prince George and has some ideas on how we can capitalize on the momentum generated by hosting the games. “Right off the top we need to continue the momentum that’s started down at the plaza and the utilization of that plaza. It’s been proven that we can do it in the middle of winter and we need to continue that year round. So whether it’s bringing entertainment in and utilizing the plaza for concerts on Saturdays and Sundays, I think that’s something that we need to continue doing.”
“Similar to what they do in the (Fort George) park. The symphony has a session or two that they run over the summer in the park and I think we need to start doing the same thing, utilizing our local talent and continuing the momentum that’s been happening at the plaza with respect to all of the entertainment. The Two Rivers Gallery has really opened their doors and I think they have show the community that the gallery has a whole lot to offer when it comes to hosting receptions, hosting various events. That’s another piece that we have to look at continuing.”
Mayor Hall says there are other locations as well where people can gather, meet and enjoy themselves. “We can even take that momentum in the plaza and move it to the front yard of City Hall, along George Street, incorporate the Farmers Market . We just need to continue looking at what we can do to draw the community downtown for various events.”
“The other thing that’s going to be huge is the legacy that the Games are going to leave behind in Prince George. That legacy will include a number of things, particularly around our sporting venues, and I think I’d like to see the city go after other games. There’s other opportunities for us to host games, the Seniors’ Games that are held, we have an opportunity to look at provincial functions that we can bring into the city.”
“ We’ve really put ourselves on the map and shown people what we can do. We have the volunteers, we have the facilities, we have the amenities here to hold national events, so I think now we just need to start to build on that momentum.” And the mayor agrees that perhaps just as importantly, we’ve shown ourselves what we’re capable of doing. “That’s a good point. I think these games have been a turning point for those of us that live in Prince George and we all now realize that we can do this kind of thing, we can put these large events on. Ya it takes a lot of planning, but we can do it. Our sites now can be set so much wider than they were in the past because of these games.”
So how do we take thoughts and transform them into action? “We’ll wrap up the games and then we need to start looking at some of the things that we can potentially do. We look at the plaza and see if there’s interested parties in partnering with the City to provide concerts throughout the summer months to transpose that plaza.”
Mayor Hall says the discussion needs to occur fairly soon. “We do need to have a group come together to talk about what’s next, that’s the big thing and we can’t put that off in my opinion. I’d like to see that happen early in the Spring, to start talking about what’s next for Prince George. And it doesn’t have to be anything huge, it can be locally-generated events like the plaza, like the park, like in front of City Hall. I think the momentum has grown to the point where people are ready to start looking at things like that and to be very supportive of it as well.”
“The other night I was down at the plaza and the entertainment, the lead singer said “How many people here from Prince George?” and I would say 80% of the people in the crowd were from Prince George and there must have been five or six hundred people there. So that’s a good sign that the community is really wanting that kind of entertainment in the plaza, and they support it.”
“If you take a look at what happens out in front of City Hall a couple of times in the summer where we have people selling their homemade products, we have various artists that come out and the whole front of City Hall is full. So we know that people are interested, we just now need to start to provide the venue and provide that kind of entertainment and opportunity for the citizens of Prince George to have some place to go and enjoy.”
City Councilor Jillian Merrick likes the idea of continuing on with the energy generated by the games. “I think PG should be competing with Kamloops as the Tournament Capital of Canada. A big part of the legacy will come from being able to attract major sporting events (and others) to the region, given our demonstrated capacity for such a large event.”
“The piece of the Games that especially hope lingers is the good neighbor piece. I find a lot of residents are being especially kind to each other and taking care of public spaces better. The Lheidli T’enneh piece of the Games, I think, is the real success story here too – a real game changer for their community and I think that can only grow.”
Councilor Merrick also says free transit provides a big boost to the community. “It has brought so many more members of the community out who would normally stay at home because they can’t afford to leave the house. The feeling on the bus these days is very different, very positive and social.”
Veteran Councilor Brian Skakun says “one of the biggest things to come out of the games was a renewed sense of pride in our community with the ability to use social media to sell that feeling to the world. I think the games have allowed the visitors and athletes into our homes and hearts with an appreciation never seen before. There has been a great deal of relationship-building before and during the games and we have to do our best to keep those alive.”
Skakun says he has taken “a lot” of photos during the games and is sending them out to athletes and sporting groups over the next while “to show my appreciation for them coming to Prince George. To build on this I feel the social media aspect of the non media covering the games is another opportunity to share how we feel about our community and region. We have a lot of people that feel great about Prince George and those people far outnumber the few folks that spend countless hours complaining about their situation in our community and do nothing about it.”
“As Civic leaders we can continue to promote the many benefits Prince George has to offer such as affordable housing, many recreational opportunities and top notch education facilities.” He adds “I also feel we have a great opportunity to really market our community in the sense of sports tourism. This, in part, could be funded by Tourism PG and marketed in an aggressive campaign to keep the games momentum going. The fact that we could host the games and pull it off speaks volumes about our ability to host large and small sporting events.”
Skakun is all for a community meeting to discuss ideas for moving us collectively forward, and feels progressive residents and groups, including the City, may have a role in helping to get it organized.
Comments
Browse the photos on the 2015 Canada Winter Games website at:
http://www.canadagames2015.ca/photos
We need a post mortem on these games to see exactly what worked and what did not. We know that the athletes enjoyed themselves and put on a great performance, and that’s as it should be. We also know that the Winter Games could not have gone forward without the 4500 volunteers, so kudo’s to them.
We also know that the majority of financing of these games came from tax dollars, and corporate donations. City home owners were taxed to the tune of $15 Million dollars to help fund these games. Approx $200.00 per household over 5 years,.
It appears at this point in time that some restaurants, motels, etc; did not make any money, and I would suggest that the retail industry took a big hit.
So, do we really want to continue to fund events that cost us money, How many people in Prince George actually participated in the games?? Once you take the athletes, coaches, managers, volunteers, visitors, out of the equation you have a very small number of the overall population that had anything to do with the games.
So lets not get carried away on planning more functions that will cost taxpayers money, and make money for a small segment of the population. Also lets not assume that the volunteers will continue to be available for other functions that are not as high profile as the Winter Games.
Dancing in the streets, drinking and carousing for two weeks, setting off fireworks for 15/18 nights in a row and generally having a good time is ok once in a while, however it certainly is not the priority for most people.
I am not sure exactly where everyone is getting the idea that these games were “bad for business”. If you have a restaurant or store downtown, and you weren’t able to capitalize on the event, is that the event’s fault. I think not.
The game themselves involved a great deal of planning, and a forward thinking business person would have done the same. I think you will find most progressive businesses saw at least a small uptick in their business. As for the hotels, the big ones all were mostly full of athletes, as was there contractual obligation. If they had a few blocked off rooms that weren’t used in exchange for housing all those athletes, I would think that trade worked for them. Go on hotels.com and look at tonight. The Coast has rooms at $219 (about $70 above their normal rate), you can stay at the Northwood on the Hart for $85, or the Economy Inn for $900!!!
As for retail, there were a few stores staying open late downtown. Usually one person working (maybe the owner, maybe paid). So what did that cost them, they are already paying rent, have inventory etc. Maybe an extra $100/day tops.
Seems like something for the negative crowd to seize on that lacks facts and common sense.
Excellent points Smiley, there always has been & will continue to be detractors. On the whole this has been a great & positive experience for PG. Was it perfect? Of course not, nothing is. To expect perfection would be naive in the extreme. One thing people have to remember that has been pointed out, this is not the Olympics, the athletes & visitors coming here do not have boatloads of cash to spend. I would hazard a guess that most are on a moderate budget & have/ will spend their money accordingly. The benefits PG will take away from these games are the non- monetary, a renewed sense of pride, the realization that we can represent on a national stage, if not international. The image we have shown to those not from our area is that we are not a backwards, crime ridden hick town. Rather we are a friendly bunch of folks that are more than happy to show what we have & can contribute & more important, we are ALWAYS like this, not just for 18 or so days (not like a certain southern neighbour not to be mentioned by Olympic name ;) ).
What we have to be aware of & not let it mire us down is the proverbial post games hangover, it will come, we just can’t let it get us down. PG has done itself proud. Let’s keep it going.
I was at the one year celebration for the Vancouver Olympics and it was alright, but nothing like the Olympics itself and seamed a bit contrived without the games spirit. So if people want to enjoy the games now is the time IMO.
I would like to see more utilization of the Art Gallery. I think an idea would be to have sponsor restaurants being able to sponsor events on the deck overlooking the square for one week slots, with opportunities for the gallery to be open late during those events. Also more business partnerships in the way of services like picture framing, and providing a market place for the trade and selling of art works would fit well with getting better utilization of this civic asset.
Also I have long advocated the idea that PG needs an entertainment district. I think from south of 5th and east of Victoria would make sense for a consolidated entertainment district anchored by the new Delta hotel once its built as well as the Inn of the North. This would be an area where night clubs could get a license to operate, retail and fast food shops could locate for foot traffic and it would be the nucleolus of a central place for people to hang out. Book ended on either end by a commercial/financial sector on Victoria Street and the government services sector on George Street.
Of course some of the intangibles for the games like the extra police presence, the entertainment, and the fireworks are factors that will not always be there… but would be nice to see more fireworks in the city, I think its been years since we have had Canada Day fireworks?
These types of events have had post mortems in the past. Ie; Salt Lake City Olympics, and some others. What was determined was that the restaurant, hotel, and bars, make money, and that the retail industry loses money. Retail loses because people who normally come to town to shop etc; usually stay away while these events take place. Its called displacement.
I suspect that is exactly what happened during the Winter Games. We had an uptick in people coming to town Ie; Athletes, coaches, managers, family, etc; however these numbers were offset by the large number of people who normally come to Prince George from the outlying areas, but who could not get hotel rooms, etc; Hence the loss of retail business.
The idea that all of Canada, and perhaps the USA think of Prince George as being backwards, crime ridden, or a hick town, is just a bunch of bull. Most people in North America do not even know Prince George exists, let alone have an opinion on the City.
Most people go to work, fish, hunt, do their sports, etc year in and year out, and could care less what people think about Prince George, whether it be Vancouver, or any other place,.
This obsession with what people think of Prince George has gone way over the top, and is in fact nothing more than a conversation piece without any validity.
These games (Summer and Winter) have been taking place since 1967 and will continue for years into the future. To make them out as being more than they actually are, shows that YES there are people in Prince George who act like hillbillies, however they are not the detractors.
I agree Palopu. I like PG just the way it is. Lots of recreation, lots of room, relatively light traffic, not sure what the big push to make it like Kamloops is.
The closing ceremonies are my invitation only. Let’s start the legacy by excluding the people who paid for the damn thing.
Palopu, have you ever been outside of PG? Having travelled extensively through North America I can attest that, yes people do know where Prince George is & yes we have a less than favourable image. Maybe you don’t care about your home town’s image, that is your prerogative, but many here do care. We probably do not register in day to day conversation outside of our area but people are aware of us. Again, if you focus solely on financial benefit, you’re probably going to walk away disappointed ( as with life in general). Try to see the bigger picture as to what events like the CWG’s bring to & have the potential to bring to places like PG.
“Dancing in the streets, drinking and carousing for two weeks, setting off fireworks for 15/18 nights in a row and generally having a good time is ok once in a while, however it certainly is not the priority for most people”
============================
I think it’s much more of a priority than you think. The issue with PG is that there is no venue for people to do that on a regular basis. The downtown is devoid of life after 6PM and events like the CWG only come around once and a while.
If the city actually got serious and developed the downtown core into a social place (like what Eagleone had suggested), people of PG would flock to it, just like people in every other city flock to the areas in their community that allow them to socialize with each other. Unless of course you are saying that PG is a town full of hermits or that the people there are somehow different than most human beings.
I have to agree with NMG; the downtown should be the heart of any vibrant city; ours is pretty much dead at 6:00pm.
It is interesting to see Councilor Skakun is a big supporter of the winter games now but didn’t he actually vote against bidding on them? Has he flip flopped? I had a chance to see the renovated kin center and from what I hear that is where the majority of our tax dollars went towards so not a bad investment that leaves us with one of the best facilities in the country. Maybe it could host a national or international speed skating competition?
Well, lets hope we see some stats and financial information. We may not be told anything other than how ecstatic and great this went.
Did we bring in $75 to 90 million? Maybe all is well. Seems to be a lot of complaining going on. I didn’t see many loomis trucks running around.
I suppose a $5000 financial statement would be too expensive.
NMG posted “Unless of course you are saying that PG is a town full of hermits”
Not full NMG, there’s only a few. And every one of them complains on 250 :P
Detoe 44. Your living in a dream world. The population of North America is approx. 400 million people. If you ran across a few people who heard of Prince George, bully for you, however that is the exception rather than the rule. Furthermore even if they did here something derogatory I am sure that they would check it out for facts, if in fact they were interested in this City.
People don’t think about Prince George anymore than you think about Sarnia Ont, London, Ont. Nanaimo BC, or Grande Prairie Ab. Perhaps you give them a passing thought but that’s about it.
We need to get accurate information about these games before we run off and start to line up another big event. If in fact we are going to take a loss on the games (I suspect we will) then we need to know this going forward,. Myself and many others are not prepared to pay tax dollars so a very small segment of the population can have a party. At the very least we should be able to get our investment back.
Now the questions is….. Home owners paid approx. $200.00 each in taxes over the past five years to help finance these games. The last payment should come off our tax bill this July, so when do we hear an announcement from the City that this tax will be removed, and the money saved will not be hidden in some increase in service fee”s.
I lived in Ontario growing up and never heard of or knew PG existed until a week before I came here for the first time. The weather is similar to northern Ontario minus the Lake effect blizzards.
Commercial properties paid a huge sum of cash for the games as well as homeowners. Thanks to them for putting up with the “temporary” tax increase so you could hopefully recoup those costs through increased business.
So sick of the negative comments from Palapoo. He’d find a way to spin a lottery win into negative news. Keep your gray sky world and wanting to keep PG in the dark ages.
The Games have clearly showed PG can be more, wants to be more, and IS more the the 250 detractors want it to be. I say kudos to PG. I say PG is awesome.
Let the negative nellies commence their sad diatribes cause I’m too bust enjoying life in PG to care!
Palopu, how does stating that in the course of travel I have come across several people who have heard of PG, indicate that I exist in a dream world? The very idea that you would infer from my statement that all 400 million inhabitants (actually more as Mexico is part of North America) heard or care about us, well…I think you missed my points entirely. First, PG has had, fairly or unfairly, an unsavoury reputation that, despite your protestations, many people know about. Second, financial gains or losses aside, the Games have shown PG in a different light, one that is infinitely more favourable. The fact that you cannot wrap your mind around anything other than a perceived financial loss shows to me that no argument would ever sway you to see that the CWG was a great thing to happen to our city & we need to grow on this experience. Too bad for you.
Comments for this article are closed.