Successful Calgary Stampede brings economic benefit to city

As the 2023 Calgary Stampede wraps up, officials expect the event to go down as the second most attended on record.

“Each year, Stampede Park transforms into its own city — the third largest in the province — for 10 days,” said Will Osler, Calgary Stampede president and board chair.

“We fill that city with diverse programming and activities, so that everyone who walks onto Stampede Park feels welcome.”

As of Saturday, 1.26 million people put on their cowboy boots and hats to take in the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

Officials expect closing day to bring the event’s total attendance just short of the all-time record of 1.4 million set in 2012.

Extreme heat, smoke, rain and even hail didn’t stop people from enjoying the midway, music and rodeo over the 10 days. Not even the costs could discourage people.

“With the Stampede super pass, I’ve just been here every single day, spending copious amounts of money,” said Joanne Michelmann.

Fred Bellamy, another attendee added, “Definitely money is worth it. Cold beer, what else could you ask for?”

After two years of significant financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stampede bounced back with $13 million in revenue last year.

Joel Cowley, Calgary Stampede CEO, believes they’ll be back in the black again this year, and likely by a more significant margin.

“We knew it was going to be a fantastic Stampede weeks beforehand,” he said.

“This is what we really need to get our footing going forward. We’ve taken on a lot of debt over the past couple years. We have a lot of deferred maintenance on the park that needs to be addressed.”

Calgary restaurants have been banking on the extra business.

Porch on 17th Avenue is marking its second Stampede this year and by far, the busiest.

Thanasi Alefantis, assistant general manager, says the restaurant is now becoming a tourist highlight.

“People are kind of knowing who we are, which is awesome, and I feel like with all the tourists coming into town as well, it’s been great and I feel like hotels have been recommending us,” he said.

According to Stampede, nearly a third of visitors came from outside of Calgary, returning to the pre-pandemic norm.

The event also had a record-breaking opening day on July 7, with nearly 165,000 visitors.

A welcome boost for Calgary’s hotel industry too.

“When the Stampede broke their Friday record, we broke our hotel record as well,” said Sol Zia, executive director of the Calgary Hotel Association.

“Arguably, we’re going to see more revenue during the 10 days of Stampede, really 12 nights, than the entire year of 2020.”

This time next year, the BMO Centre expansion will be complete, giving the Stampede an extra 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and an outdoor courtyard for people to enjoy.

“The future is incredibly bright for the Calgary Stampede,” Cowley said.

Cowley says the team will take a quick break, then get right back to planning for next year’s Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, which is set to take place July 5 to 14.