Battle of Alberta: Calgary's Whiskey Rose Saloon gears up for spike in business
Staff at Calgary bars and restaurants are gearing up for a potential spike in business as the Flames take on the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The series kicks off on Wednesday with a visit from the Oilers, and will inevitably see fans flocking to local watering holes to watch the matchup.
Devin Peterson is the operating manager for Calgary's Whiskey Rose Saloon, a live music venue on 17th Avenue S.W. that opened in December 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bar faced eight weeks of restrictions when it opened its doors, but now Peterson says they're seeing a boom in business.
"There are big pockets of Edmonton fans already in Calgary that are looking for Edmonton games, and now we can accommodate that with a Calgary game,” he said.
He's hoping the further the Flames push into the postseason, the more the business will prosper.
"We have an upstairs too,” he said. "So the first thing we did after the game-winning goal yesterday was get on the phone and order a whole bunch of TV’s so we can have viewing parties upstairs."
Inside Calgary's Whiskey Rose Saloon, a live music venue on 17th Avenue S.W.The Calgary Chamber of Commerce says each playoff game in the city brings in about $3 million in revenue.
"Bars see about 19 per cent higher revenues, and restaurants see 9 per cent higher revenues when the playoffs are on," said spokesperson Ruhee Ismail-Teja.
PLAYOFF WAGER BETWEEN MAYORS
The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are throwing their support behind their respective home teams ahead of the long-awaited return of a playoff version of the storied Battle of Alberta.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced Monday afternoon that she had agreed to a friendly wager with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, her counterpart in Edmonton, ahead of the Flames-Oilers Pacific Division finals series.
Gondek says the mayor of the city that loses the series will wear the victorious team's jersey and full facepaint in the colours of their rival.
The provincial rivals last met in the playoffs 31 years ago during the 1991 Smythe Division Semifinals, in which the Oilers defeated the Flames on an Esa Tikkanen goal in overtime in Game 7.
WHO DOES THE PREMIER WANT TO WIN?
Premier Jason Kenney, who is in Washington D.C for meetings, was quizzed by CTV News Washington Bureau Chief Richard Madan on who he will support.
Kenney laughed off the question, saying "I’m from Calgary," before adding “The whole province is going to get into this thing, and I just hope one of them emerges and wins the Stanley Cup."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured including toddler, after Hwy. 417 crash in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.