The 100th Grey Cup had an economic impact of $133.1 million in the province of Ontario, according to an assessment that was conducted for the event.
Toronto Argonauts and 100th Grey Cup Festival executive chairman and CEO, Chris Rudge, made the announcement Wednesday during a special presentation to the City of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee.
“We are very pleased with the results produced by this assessment,” Rudge said in a statement. “The Festival was an important celebration of sport and culture for our city, province and country, and this evaluation demonstrates the positive, far-reaching financial impact it had on all of us.
“The people of Toronto opened their arms to the nation and were rewarded with a tremendous infusion of economic spending that also resulted in job creation and millions of dollars in municipal and provincial tax revenue. We look forward to hosting the Grey Cup festival and game again soon.”
According to the assessment, $94.7 million was generated within the city of Toronto alone. The events during Grey Cup week attracted nearly 200,000 spectators, including 86,400 out-of-town spectators to Toronto with the out-of-towners each spending an average of $354.87 in the community over the course of their trip; the average day-trip visitor spent $122.60 and the average overnight visitor spent $646.98.
“The City of Toronto scored an economic touchdown with the 100th Grey Cup Festival,” Toronto’s mayor Rob Ford said. “This tremendously successful event brought in nearly $95 million in economic benefits, resulted in hundreds of jobs for our residents, and was enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people.”
The Grey Cup and its numerous festivities supported $38.4 million in wages and salaries throughout Ontario and supported 795 jobs.
Approximately $25.3 million in tax revenue – a combination of federal, provincial and municipal taxes — was also generated by the event.
“The Grey Cup Festival was a huge win for our city, both on and off of the field,” chair of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee Michael Thompson added. “It is most gratifying that an event of such national importance also brought with it economic, cultural and employment benefits for our city and its people.”
The assessment was prepared by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance using the STEAM PRO economic impact assessment model, which is considered the gold standard for evaluating economic impact of a particular event in an area.
The hometown Argos were victorious in the historic game, beating the Calgary Stampeders by a score of 35-22.
