Alberta’s Minister of Tourism and Sport, Joseph Schow, announced that the government will be providing $11 million towards major hockey events featured in the province.
The senior vice-president of Hockey Canada, Dean Mclntosh, also joined the minister on February 24 at the Rogers Place arena in Edmonton to deliver the announcement.
After budget 2024 is passed, the government will be providing the funding over the next 3 years to support 6 major hockey events and 4 years of Hockey development camps.
The featured events include 2 Hlinka Gretzky Cups, 2 Canada vs United States National Women’s Rivalry games, the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championship, 4 years of Hockey Canada summer development camps, and the 2027 IIHF Junior Championships.
The IIHF Championships is set to bring in over 400,000 fans to the province according to the minister, which will provide a “huge boost” to Alberta’s communities, and inspire the next generation of athletes.
The economic impact of Alberta’s hockey tourists
Mclntosh commented at Rogers Place saying he intends to give back to the provinces wealth after they’ve supported Hockey Canada for so many years.
The financial impact of the $11 million in funding could return roughly $55 million back into the province through tourism that major hockey events produce, the minister claimed.
“There’s a lot of small businesses and medium sized businesses that thrive on tourism,” he said.
“When you’re talking about filling hotel rooms, restaurants, shopping in local businesses, going to farmers markets, that’s what these kinds of events do for local communities,” Schow added.
The minister is positive that tourism will create long lasting impacts that “all of Alberta will benefit from” and provide jobs, economic development, and bring pride to the province.
