Businesses hope for boost during the Calgary Stampede
After a year-long hiatus, the Stampede is gearing up for a comeback and businesses are hoping for a badly-needed boost.
Brett Beninger, TB Salon Managing Partner, and his team are assembling last minute pieces to their Stampede tent at 270 - 14 Sve SE, which is right across the street from the grounds. For the next 10 days, they are welcoming patrons to enjoy music, drinks and barbeque.
“I was hit really hard with COVID-19 and just to be able to put this on for everybody and have a chance to bring some capital into the pockets of our staff is really exciting for us,” said Beninger.
In Mission, South Block Barbeque and Brewery just opened up a few days ago, right in time for the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. The owner, Jared Kichula, says the Stampede won’t be the same this year but they are looking forward to kicking it off.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a Stampede like we’ve ever seen before,” said Kichula.
“It’s going to be a very muted one but it’s getting some people out and that’s the benefit to this is that people are back out and some form of normalcy is going to come out of this.”
Kichula also owns Cardinale, which is located near the Stampede grounds, and says for 15 years they’ve been able to enjoy the economic boost from tourists and crowds during this time of year. He say this year they might see half the crowd.
REDUCED CAPACITY
Calgary Stampede officials announced capacity on the grounds this year will be reduced by half to make room for those in attendance and health and safety protocols such as sanitization and cleaning will be in place.
The Nashville North tent will require visitors to show proof of vaccination or take an on-site rapid test before entering the premises.
Dr. Anne Marie Dorland, Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University, says the Stampede is setting a precedent for other large-scale organizations to host events.
“The Stampede really is holding up a high standard for their engagement with their brand and I’m looking forward to seeing how they are setting the stage for other Canadian organizations and events to be starting some things we never tried before.”
Beninger is proud to be a part of the culture of Stampede again. He has hired 30 people to help operate the tent over the next ten days and is optimistic.
“We understand people are being cautious and don’t want to go and enjoy the stampede and we respect that but I do think there is a large percentage of people that have had enough of being at home and not being around other people and that’s really the main reason we created this,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.