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Twenty years after the Kelowna Rockets hoisted the Memorial Cup, the Canadian Hockey League announced it’s coming back to the city.
“Having the opportunity to be in the stands in 2004 when the Rockets won the Memorial Cup and just how it felt for the community and so many memories that it made for individuals, I’m so looking forward to that repeating itself,” said Kelowna Mayor, Tom Dyas.All eyes will be on Kelowna when the cup comes to the city in 2026, and it’s a win for more than just hockey fans. “Not only was Tourism Kelowna thrilled, but all of the tourism-related businesses in the region were applauding pretty loudly yesterday,” said Tourism Kelowna President and CEO, Lisanne Ballantyne.
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From restaurants to hotels to retail, all tourism industries are expected to get a major boost from the event.Tourism Kelowna is already anticipating more than 4,000 hotel bookings during the Memorial Cup.“Those 4,000 room nights aren’t even counting fans and families coming in because of the event, that’s just a minimum and it’s only going up from there,” said Ballantyne.Over the next couple of years the city of Kelowna is expected to generate between $50 million and $60 million with three major events coming to the city.
The Brier Cup makes its way to town next March and according to Tourism Kelowna, the projected economic impact of the curling tournament is $16 million to $18 million. In the same year, the Canadian Country Music Awards come to Kelowna bringing in an estimated $11 million. The Memorial Cup’s projected economic impact is $16 million to $20 million.“It is substantial and huge for our city. (All the events) are in shoulder seasons, so it allows for business to come here when it’s not in the majority of our tourist season,” said Dyas.Tourism Kelowna says the city is solidifying its spot as a host for major events.“We’re looking at events as far as 2028 at this point. These major events really become the sort of economic pillars in the sand that leisure tourism can be built around too,” said Ballantyne.
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