Increase in spending during Canucks opening weekend
Posted January 23, 2013 3:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Entertainment spending in the Lower Mainland saw a boost over the weekend, and not so coincidentally, the Canucks played both Saturday and Sunday.
Bars and restaurants have already seen an increase in spending during the NHL’s opening weekend according to a new Moneris report.
It shows restaurants in cities across the country where home games were played over the weekend saw an overall increase in credit card spending of almost nine per cent during the six hour time period analyzed. That time began two hours before game time compared to the same time last weekend.
The restaurant sector in Vancouver experienced the highest increase in spending at 19.34 per cent.
Various sports bars we’ve spoken with throughout the Lower Mainland all say people have piled in on game days. This included Tim Murphy, General Manager of Shark Club Vancouver, who says it’s awesome to have it back from a business perspective.
“Everybody in their Canuck gear, really busy big groups of people coming in, a lot of people staying to watch the game so we were pretty much full for the entire game.”
Ian Tostenson, President of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association says the loss however will be tough to make up…unless
“If we go to the playoff, that’s where it really gets substantial. If you compare it to last year, if we go further than we did last year then I think we go along the way to make it even.”
Other Canadian cities are also seeing an increase, Winnipeg up more than 10 per cent.
The report also shows hockey makes Canadians hungry for fast food, with an increase in spending at those type of establishments opening weekend.
