World Juniors cancellation a hefty blow to local morale and tourism boosts

After much preparation and hiring at Westerner Park, the focus is now on minimizing the costs of the loss.

“When that occurred, then it’s about controlling your costs and trying to deal with your inventories to reduce wastage; make sure that we have a future plan for what inventories remain, try to deal with our suppliers to get as much as possible returned, and minimize the damage,” Olesen adds.

The organization had to readjust multiple times, even before the final cancellation.

On Dec. 21, the provincial government implemented new measures due to the rising numbers of Omicron infections, including 50 per cent capacity for venues seating more than 1,000 people and removing the ability to consume food or drinks while seated.

Prior to that, several pre-tournament games were postponed and ultimately cancelled.

“Attendance is the crux of our service. That was probably the deepest blow for Westerner Park,” says Olesen.

For the Peavey Mart Centrium, it meant reducing capacity from about 8,000 to 4,000.

Several pre-tournament games were already postponed, meaning just two of those matchups at the Centrium instead of a handful more.

The economic impacts will ripple across the city of Red Deer for hotels and restaurants, according to Rene Rondeau, executive director, Tourism Red Deer.

“This is an event that was supposed to help get us into 2022,” he says. “It’s going to be a huge impact on us.”

Using the Canadian Finals Rodeo as an example, the five day event brought $25 million in revenues for the city.

Rondeau expected the IIHF to rack in even more as not only was the event longer, but many fans would be visiting from different parts of Canada and the United States.

He also notes the positive impact the competition would have had on community morale.

“Red Deer was very excited about this whole thing and that’s kind of the tough one too in that it’s a loss for our tourism economy, but also the community spirit,” says Rondeau. “We were hoping to be a part of this as a community and showcase ourselves to the rest of the world, to the national and international audience on television.”

Despite the difficult decision, Olesen thinks the IIHF made the right one for the safety of those involved and for the integrity of the event itself.

“I think they did everything they could with the cards that they were dealt,” he says. “It’s one of the best international and mega events out there and that needs to be protected for future hosts; so you don’t want to water that down much.”

Both Olesen and Rondeau agree that the best mindset is to hope for a better 2022.

“Prepare for the worst, but expect the best,” says Rondeau. “I think people understand that we do a good job with events, we will continue doing a great job with events and we’ve got amazing people here in this community that step up to the plate.”

“What affects you can build you back up and you just dust yourself off and be better for it in the future,” says Olesen.

by Alessia Proietti

World Juniors cancellation a hefty blow to local morale and tourism boosts

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