It's not cake and victory cigars just yet, but organizers of the 79th Brier are a lot happier with attendance figures today than they were in the days leading up to the event.
Heading into Friday night's 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game between Alberta and Saskatchewan, attendance totals at the MTS Centre had reached 138,916 and are on pace to hit the organizers' projected figure of 160,000. That will eclipse the total attendance mark of 147,017 at the 1998 Brier in Winnipeg and the 153,571 fans who took in the 2003 worlds here.
Even with Manitoba's Kerry Burtnyk being eliminated Thursday night with a 6-5 round-robin record, Brier chairman Barry Greenberg said they are hoping for crowds in the neighbourhood of 9,000 for today's semifinal and Sunday's final. But Burtnyk's absence from the weekend is also expected to hurt walk-up sales.
"We're very proud of Manitoba's team, they were great ambassadors for the province... but if they had stayed a little longer we would have anticipated a little higher number," Greenberg said.
"I'm hoping we'll post a surplus, it depends on how we do in The Brier Patch as well. I can't even guess, because it's like running two different events.
"But we're satisfied where we're at. We're pleased about it."
Pleased, but not giddy, because Winnipeg's reputation as the curling capital of the world has clearly been lost to two burgs west of us -- Calgary and Edmonton, which hold three of the top five total attendances in Brier history. Saskatoon, the host in 2004 and 2000, holds the other two highest totals.
Greenberg believes Winnipeg's relative isolation vs. Calgary and Edmonton -- which draw fans from both cities to their big events -- and the game's growing TV audience are also factors at play here.
"It might be an unfair comparison in the sense in that we're not comparing our city with another of equal population," said Greenberg. "Our city hasn't increased in population whereas Calgary and Edmonton are exploding and then they have more people in the surrounding areas and are drawing from each city's fan base.
"I believe we had more people curling at our last event (the 1998 Brier) and I don't think the TV coverage was as good then as it is today. The coverage is so outstanding now it's understandable some people choose to go that route (stay at home and watch it on the tube) instead of experiencing the atmosphere here at the venue.
"But, overall, I think we should be proud of the number of people who came out."
ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
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