Red Mile puts Calgary businesses back in the black as profits soar
The Battle of Alberta is a part of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in over 30 years, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for local businesses that struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic.
After an incredible start to Round 2, which saw the Calgary Flames rout the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 9-6, it appears the entire city is buzzing with excitement.
Ernie Tsu, who owns Trolley 5 Brew Pub on 17th Avenue, says his sales are up and the atmosphere is electric.
"There are so many Oilers and Flames fans that are at the same table, so it's been so great," he said. "Everyone’s been having so much fun for the Battle of Alberta."
"I had restaurants in 2004 on the Red mile and it was a flashback; this is thousands of people on the street, lots of Oilers jerseys, a majority Flames jerseys (obviously), but the C of Red with the Red Mile was definitely back in in play."
Puck drop for Game 2 is 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, and several bar and restaurant owners are hoping spending trends are similar to what they saw in the first round of the playoffs.
According to Moneris, Canada’s largest payment provider, the first round of the playoffs in Calgary saw a double-digit growth in spending for bars and restaurants across the city during home games.
Data from Game 1 versus the Dallas Stars saw an overall increase in food and drink spending of 32 per cent at businesses near the Saddledome, and an increase of 13 per cent for the rest of the city.
Purchases of pints of beer saw a 65 per cent increase at businesses near the arena, as well for Game 1 of the first round alone.
Game 7 in particular was a huge win with food and drink spending overall up 40 per cent near the arena and almost 20 per cent for the rest of the city. Bars saw the largest increase, up 68 per cent in spending near the arena, while restaurants were up 38 per cent.
JERSEY SALES SPIKING AMID FLAMES PLAYOFF RUN
Flames fans aren’t just spending their money on food and drinks, they’re also using it to upgrade their wardrobe.
Die-hard Flames supporters like Stevie Dougherty can’t wait to attend the game in style.
Dougherty was so inspired by the performance of Flames defenceman Nikita Zadorov that he decided to purchase his number 16 jersey at FanAttic.
"The Flames wear the retro jersey and I have the old one and I don’t see anyone wearing a Zadorov jersey, so I thought this would be a good purchase," he said.
Brent Gibbs, director of retail with Calgary Sports & Entertainment, says he’s never seen such a surge in sales.
"The excitement of the city has been unbelievable, and we’re seeing such an overwhelming response; our sales have been just fantastic since we started the playoffs," he said.
"Our staff have been working extremely hard to make sure that our stores are stocked up and ready to go, it’s been a lot of really long days and we love to be a part of this."
Gibbs adds that supply chain issues are still a problem for his staff which is working to obtain new Flames products on a daily basis to keep up the demand.
"Some items we just can’t keep up on those shelves fast enough."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.