Cash injection

Who knew hockey could be so lucrative?

According to city tourism manager Paul Pepe, the annual Robin’s Minor Hockey Classic injects about $400,000 into the local economy each year.

With about 130 teams and counting, 34 which come from regional outposts like Geraldton, Manitouwage and Dryden, the tournament has a huge impact, both on and off the ice, Pepe said Friday.

“It just exemplifies how important events like this are for our tourism economy,” Pepe said, adding his department routinely seeks out sporting events at the local, provincial and national level for just this reason.

Pepe, who also said a new events centre would only add to the city's ability to compete at the latter two levels, said the estimates are derived through a number of online tools, taking into consideration the number of out-of-town players and parents, but also the money spent by the 100 or so teams in city on things like meals and concessions.

“The great thing is with these minor hockey events is not only is it bringing in the players, it’s bringing in the parents as well. It’s the families and while they’re in the city they’re going to shop, they’re going to enjoy the experiences of the community in general.

“And some of them may even buy some bigger ticket items while they’re here as well, which we don’t include in the impact analysis,” Pepe said.

As a regional hub, Thunder Bay has much more to offer consumers from smaller communities of Northwestern Ontario.

Take Dryden, for example, said Port Arthur Minor Hockey Association President Kevin Jewett, who said he figures out-of-town teams have been responsible for booking up to 500 rooms in the city this weekend.

“Dryden doesn’t have a movie theatre. They have a drive-in in the summertime. They might catch a movie,” said Jewett, whose added the tournament has partnered with the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Thunder Bay North Stars, handing out free tickets to the kids playing in the tournament, hoping to fill Fort William Gardens on Friday night.

“We bring in a lot of tourism. We give a lot of hotels a lot of business, a lot of restaurants and they do a lot of shopping. A lot the teams that come in are from smaller communities, like Geraldto, who said he figures out-of-town teams have been responsible for booking up to 500 rooms in the city this weekend.

“Dryden doesn’t have a movie theatre. They have a drive-in in the summertime. They might catch a movie,” said Jewett, whose added the tournament has partnered with the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Thunder Bay North Stars, handing out free tickets to the kids playing in the tournament, hoping to fill Fort William Gardens on Friday night.

“We bring in a lot of tourism. We give a lot of hotels a lot of business, a lot of restaurants and they do a lot of shopping. A lot the teams that come in are from smaller communities, like Geraldto, who said he figures out-of-town teams have been responsible for booking up to 500 rooms in the city this weekend.

“Dryden doesn’t have a movie theatre. They have a drive-in in the summertime. They might catch a movie,” said Jewett, whose added the tournament has partnered with the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Thunder Bay North Stars, handing out free tickets to the kids playing in the tournament, hoping to fill Fort William Gardens on Friday night.

“We bring in a lot of tourism. We give a lot of hotels a lot of business, a lot of restaurants and they do a lot of shopping. A lot the teams that come in are from smaller communities, like Geraldton.”

For many it’s a family vacation, said Danny Letourneau, coach of the Geraldton Goldminers Novice squad.
It’s also not always easy for parents to spent that kind of money in a repressed economy.

He’s brought teams with just a couple of spares and teams with full rosters to the four tournaments his team enters each season, two of which are usually in Thunder Bay.

And the city and its businesses have bent over backward, it seems to make them feel welcome.

“We stay at the Valhalla Inn get a block of rooms and they were really good to us. We get a discounted rate, we get free pizza and pop for a night. They’ve been fantastic,” Letourneau said. “And we always get some kind of coupons, whether it’s from McDonald’s or Robin’s when we come. There are benefits for sure.

“It costs enough for us to come down here, so it’s good to get a little perk too.

The tournament, in its 21st year, runs throughout the weekend, with championship games slated for most city rinks on Sunday.