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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.