Winnipeg ready to host nation’s football fans

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This article was published 24/11/2015 (3915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to the last-minute rush in the lead-up to the Canadian Football League’s 103rd Grey Cup.

Organizers are rolling out a year-and-a-half worth of event planning inside a couple of days.

“We have been planning and preparing for this event for a long time now, so it’s thrilling and exciting that it’s finally here,” said Jason Smith, president of the Grey Cup organizing committee.

“Everything is right on schedule and we’re ready to throw open the doors for the rest of Canada to experience the 103rd Grey Cup Festival,” Smith said.

The Edmonton Eskimos will face the Ottawa Redblacks Sunday with the opening kickoff at 5 p.m. at Investors Group Field.

Tourism officials expressed high hopes Monday, delighted by a financial windfall that lasts from Wednesday, when early birds show up, through Monday when fans head home.

“It’s fabulous. First of all, it’s Canada’s significant football market so fans are certainly watching it. There will be an influx in from the two markets, (Ottawa and Edmonton) and that means hotel sales, restaurant sales, bar sales, stadium sales. A lot of people will start coming in Wednesday and Thursday and they’ll stay until Monday or Tuesday,” said Colin Ferguson, president and CEO at Travel Manitoba.

Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, senior vice-president for Tourism Winnipeg, said the biggest draw is the game, but the events leading up to it paint every host city in party colours, and that’s worth a lot of money.

“Even if you’re not a football fan, there’s so much more to the Grey Cup now. People are coming for the party atmosphere,” she said.

The Grey Cup organizing committee has wall-to-wall events lined up, from Wednesday’s Grey Cup event at the legislature to the postgame party at Max Bell Field House Sunday night.

Then there’s Tuffy, the brown quarter horse who will ride into the Winnipeg Art Gallery Friday at 4:30 p.m., courtesy of the Calgary Grey Cup committee.

Tuffy triggered a stir at the Toronto Grey Cup in 2012 when the Royal York refused the famous horse entry, but later relented.

Not so here. Tuffy rides into Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown at 5 p.m.

“We’ve been riding into a hotel for the past 68 years. We bring her up to the front desk. We actually get her checked into the hotel. Typically, she gets some carrots and apples and there’s a big crowd around her,” said Brad Greenslade of Calgary’s Grey Cup committee.

Rarely does the horse leave a deposit, Greenslade said.

“There’s stuff they do to prevent her leaving one. And we’re there to provide cleanup where necessary,” he chuckled.

The Calgary committee will host two pancake breakfasts and a hoedown at St. Gerard School on Foster Street.

The Grey Cup last year brought $100 million into Vancouver; $60 million to Regina in 2013, and it’s estimated the party will be worth $85.5 million this year.

Air Canada direct flights from Ottawa and connecting flights through Toronto were hot sellers Monday. A single seat left on one flight was going for $1,486 before taxes.

Ditto WestJet. Their prices were a bit lower Monday. Type in the same arrival and departure info — arriving Friday and leaving Monday– and WestJet calculated a round trip for $1,162.18.

The Edmonton Eskimos chartered a plane for some of their hardcore fans to fly in Friday. The airfare is $600, not including tickets or accommodations.

“We are confirming final seating numbers as we speak. In the meantime, there is a waiting list created, so once numbers are confirmed, fans will be called,” an Eskimos spokeswoman said by email Monday.

“Times are also being finalized right now,” the spokeswoman said.

Grey Cup Festival organizers, including some 800 volunteers, were enjoying the calm before the storm Monday.

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The official word on stadium tickets was 1,000 seats were left, but those numbers don’t reflect the buying and selling of tickets held by season ticket holders. IGF has 36,634 seats for Sunday’s game.

Kijiji listed about 560 tickets for sale Monday evening. Of the 500 tickets posted for sale on ticket distributor StubHub Monday, about 40 per cent of buyers were in Ontario and 12 per cent from Alberta.

Traffic like that suggests Ottawa fans were snapping up the bulk of seats, which makes sense. The Ottawa Redblacks reached the Grey Cup in their second year of existence.

Winnipeg-area hotels were 85 per cent booked, according to Winnipeg Tourism.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca