GC 100 Brings Big $$ To GTA

- During a special presentation today to the City of Toronto’s Economic Development Committee, Toronto Argonauts and 100th Grey Cup Festival Executive Chairman & CEO, Chris Rudge, officially unveiled the results of the Economic Impact Assessment conducted for the event.

The total economic activity generated by the 100th Grey Cup was more than $133.1 million throughout the province, with $94.7 million occurring in Toronto. These expenditures supported $38.4 million in wages and salaries throughout the province, and supported 795 jobs, of which 596 - including $26.6 million in wages and salaries - occurred in Toronto. The net economic activity (GDP) generated by the event was $70.2 million in the Province of Ontario, of which $48.9 million occurred in Toronto. The assessment was prepared by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance using the STEAM PRO economic impact assessment model which is widely considered to be the gold standard for evaluating the economic impact of a particular event in a region or area.

"The City of Toronto scored an economic touchdown with the 100th Grey Cup Festival," said Mayor Rob Ford. "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."

Considerable tax revenues were also generated by the event, totalling nearly $25.3 million. The event supported federal government tax revenues of nearly $11.6 million; with an additional $9.3 million in taxes accruing to the province of Ontario, and more than $4.3 million to municipalities in the province, of which $3.4 million was in Toronto. The event attracted more than 199,400 spectators, including 86,400 out of town spectators to Toronto. Each out of town spectator spent 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 Grey Cup Festival was a huge win for our city, both on and off of the field,” said Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the City’s Economic Development Committee. “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.”

Commented Toronto Argonauts and 100th Grey Cup Festival Executive Chairman & CEO, Chris Rudge,“We are very pleased with the results produced by this assessment. 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.”

The economic impact results were derived from surveys taken during the 100th Grey Cup Festival. A total of 1,148 visitor parties who were approached responded to the survey, with 444 indicating they were from Toronto, while 704 were visitors. The study was commissioned by Heritage Canada and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.