The Calgary Stampede is sharing new details of just how much money the 10-day event brings in for the city’s economy, saying even more is expected once the BMO Centre is upgraded.
President Dana Peers says a recent Conference Board of Canada review has assessed the annual economic impact of Stampede activities at $540 million.
He made the announcement on Friday at the Lake Louise Business Forum.
“Annually, the Stampede hosts more than 1,200 world-class business, tourism, sporting, hospitality and community events,” Peers said.
The Stampede said the report was commissioned in advance of the expansion of the BMO Centre at Stampede Park.
The first phase of the expansion is expected to be finished in June of 2020 and the second phase will wrap up by 2024.
“With the expansion of BMO Centre into a Tier 1 conference facility now underway, these numbers and the economic impact will grow dramatically,” Peers added.
According to the Stampede, the BMO Centre expansion is anticipated to generate $497 million for Canada, with $402 million of that staying in Alberta.
“Once complete, the facility is projected to bring in $223 million for the province annually and provide more than 1,750 full-time jobs,” the Stampede said in a Monday news release.
The announcement comes amid cutbacks from the province that were announced in October as Premier Jason Kenney unveiled his government’s budget.
The 2019 budget allocated $6.7 million in funding for the Stampede, down from almost $7.7 million the year before.
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