World Juniors give host Halifax tourism boost

The World Junior Ice Hockey Championships delivered an influx of sports fans over the holiday break in host cities Moncton and Halifax.

Canada came out on top with gold following the Dec. 26, 2022 – Jan 5, 2023 tournament, and Halifax reaped the benefits.

“Things couldn't have gone better. We had high expectations for how such a big event might have affected our downtown, but things went so well,” said Downtown Halifax Business Commission CEO Paul MacKinnon.

Though MacKinnon had worries following the COVID pandemic impacts on Edmonton's IIHF World Juniors, he was pleased with how things went.

“It had been a few years since the regular tournament. Edmonton wasn't as successful in attendance and impact as usual, and the tournament doesn't do as well in NHL markets. Then Hockey Canada was also embroiled in scandals,” he said.

“But with Hockey Canada cleaning house, that alleviated some concerns. Halifax has also proven it's a great market for these kinds of events.”

He points to the 2003 championships, held in Halifax and Sydney, considered a successful event to come to the area.

“We definitely play host to some great sports and cultural events, and we're a great town for it. It's safe to say the consensus from businesses and sponsors was this was a great thing,” he said. “The icing on the cake this year was that Canada won, which definitely changed the vibe.”

MacKinnon says the tournament attracted folks from out of town, and was great for hotels, bars and restaurants in the area.

“The tournament gave people the opportunity to get ticket packages. So if people were going to most of the games, there would be an afternoon and then an evening game. They got to kill the hours in between in downtown Halifax,” he said.

“That allowed people to show, eat, check out the Discovery Centre, go to the museum, and so much more. There was a captive audience.”

He witnessed people in jerseys of all nationalities walking the streets of Halifax, enjoying the sights and sounds.

“There were just way more people around in the area. We got stats on pedestrian tracking, and the first week of the tournament showed activity in the area that was higher than the last three years,” he said.

Attendance was strong for all the games, and the crowds were always jovial and having a great time enjoying the game.

“I saw the Canada-Austria game, and it was 11-0 and Austria hadn't scored in the tournament yet. Even then, people would cheer Austria on when they got a good chance. People wanted to see good hockey and good plays,” he said.

“When they finally did score in their next game, the place went nuts. In the Switzerland game, when our Mooseheads captain Attilio Biasca scored in overtime, people were so happy.”

MacKinnon was also happy to see athletes had places to go have fun after having travelled to Halifax, sometimes from a long way away.

“I loved seeing the Czechia players swim in the harbour off the Queens Marque. We aren't just good at organizing events, but it's important to have a great fan and participant experience,” he said.

Scotiabank Centre played host to huge crowds for the hockey games, and the area saw spin-offs from that.

“It was an amazing experience. The success of this is a testament to our strength as a city to host these events,” said Erin Esiyok-Prime, spokesperson for Scotiabank Centre.

“We knew Halifax and the centre were a great destination, but this was a great reminder. It was a great end to the year, and can only bolster our reputation as a great host city.”

She said it was amazing as a resident of the city to see people out and about during that time.

“There were line-ups downtown, and we truly want to host events that bring people here, and ones that support the community and economy,” she said. “We focus on things that will have spin-offs in this area long-term.”

She said the team focused on what matters: That the community and fans are happy with the experience.

“The fans here are loud, proud and passionate. They were cheering at games from day one. It was all about seeing that for us,” she said.

“People come out to see our local Halifax Mooseheads here, and it's amazing to see how excited people are about hockey here. It's about the pieces coming together to bring a vibrancy to events.”

MacKinnon of the Business Commission also saw people who didn't have tickets go to bars and pubs to see the games.

“People were coming downtown because they knew the games were on. There are some great images of Rogers Square during that gold medal game. We had a few thousand gather down there to watch that game together,” he said.

“Hockey Canada projected – very roughly – that they expected $40-to-$50-million in economic impacts for Halifax and Moncton. I expect we may have done better.”

While he's happy about how well this event did, MacKinnon is now looking forward to what's next for the city.

“We have the North American Indigenous Games coming, which is our largest event in terms of participants. We have the Junos coming. We want to be proactive, and make sure we attract great, large events,” he said.