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A financial impact report indicates the Mission BC Winter Games in February brought $1.6M in direct spending. Above, Games president Brian Antonson addresses the crowd during closing ceremonies. BETTY JOHNSTON PHOTO
Games brought $1.6M boon: report Jason ROESSLE ABBOTSFORD NEWS
Mission and the surrounding area reaped a direct $1.6-million economic benefit from February’s BC Winter Games, according to an analysis released last week. The Economic Planning Group, which has done similar analyses for other Games host communities, reported that participants, spectators and volunteers accounted for $851,300 of spending while Games organizers spent $731,900. “As the Games are a unique, one-
time opportunity for athletes, the majority of spectator spending comes from parents attending the Games in support of their children, booking hotel nights and visiting restaurants,” read the report. This direct spending resulted in an estimated impact on the economy – including indirect and induced effects – of just over $3.2 million. “If nothing else, this is consistent with what we’ve seen in the past,” said Kelly Mann, president of the BC Games Society. “For a district
the size of Mission, that’s a good chunk of change. “Mission really measured up in providing a great hosting opportunity.” The $1.6 million in direct spending is 11 per cent lower than the 2008 Kimberly/Cranbrook BC Games, and several factors were noted in the report. There were fewer athletes competing in the Mission event (1,847) compared to Kimberly (1,934), and due to the high number of athletes from the Lower Mainland/Fraser
Valley area, many families were able to drive home each night, instead of having to secure hotel rooms. There is also a “greater range of leisure activities in the metro Vancouver region.” Participants spent an average of $103 each, including 26 per cent on gifts and souvenirs, 22 per cent on accommodation, and on auto expenses at 15 per cent. Spectators were found to have spent $232 each, with accommodation accounting for 28 per cent ($64.99), meals at 20 per cent
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($47.30) and automobile at 17 per cent ($40.56). There were 1,745 volunteers involved with the February event, and the analysis found they spent an average of close to $70 each. Brian Antonson, Mission BC Winter Games president, said he smiled when he read the analysis. “I’ve been saying to people all along that I can’t predict [the overall economic impact], but look at what Kimberly did,” he said. Antonson noted some had CONTINUED ON 4
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