GREY CUP LEAVES $73.5M IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO

The 110^th Grey Cup and the 2023 Grey Cup Festival generated over $73.5 million in total economic activity in Canada according to a study by Sport Tourism Canada (STC). After accounting for initial expenditures, the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) championship contest generated a net economic impact (GDP) of $41.9 million, including $35.4 million for the province of Ontario and $29.2 million for the City of Hamilton.

The total reported attendance over the six-day festival and at the championship game was 223,216. The 33,835 out-of-town guests who visited the region averaged 3.4 days in the host city and generated approximately $20.8 million in visitor spending.

The 2023 Grey Cup Festival initiated the largest regionalization in Grey Cup history with 42 events in the City of Hamilton and the surrounding region, including the CFL Awards in Niagara Falls. The Built in the Hammer Grey Cup Music Festival headlined by country music megastar Carrie Underwood and reggae icon Shaggy also included 45 local artists and bands, drawing from the region’s diverse and eclectic music scene. The Festival’s family-friendly fare was highlighted by community partnerships with a trio of long-standing Hamilton traditions: the Around the Bay Race marathon, Supercrawl – the City’s music and arts festival, and the fan favourite Santa Claus Parade.

The study was commissioned by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the CFL with STC’s economic impact team managing the surveying and data collection process. The team used the STEAMPRO economic impact assessment model to produce a detailed report highlighting total output, GDP, wages and salaries, employment, taxes and more.

The complete Economic Impact Assessment by Sport Tourism Canada can be found here.

For the second year in a row, the Grey Cup and the Grey Cup Festival have been named a finalist for the Sport Tourism Canada PRESTIGE Awards in the category of Canadian Sport Event of the Year with a budget greater than $1 million.

KEY FINDINGS

$61.5 million in overall economic activity within the province of Ontario
310 local jobs were supported by the event, resulting in $18.4 million in wages and salaries for members of the Hamilton community and the surrounding region
64 per cent of the 1,151 surveyed attendees indicated that the Grey Cup was their sole reason for visiting Hamilton
42 per cent of attendees traveled to Hamilton from outside of Ontario

110^TH GREY CUP AT A GLANCE

One of the biggest television events in Canada in 2023 with 8.9 million Canadians tuning in for part of the Grey Cup on TSN and RDS – an increase of nine per cent over last year
800 volunteers who supported in the planning and delivery of Grey Cup Week
245 accredited media members provided coverage during the Grey Cup championship, Grey Cup Week and the Grey Cup Festival
Approximately 11,400 editorial mentions from November 11-20 during Grey Cup Week, reaching a total of 6.5 billion people and resulting in a total Advertising Value Equivalency of US$60.1 million
Year-over-year, interactions across all CFL social media channels increased by an average of 35 per cent per post during Grey Cup Week
Higher consumption of CFL digital content, including increases in total YouTube views (+50 per cent), views per video (+45 per cent) and CFL.ca page views (+40 per cent) as compared to the 109^th Grey Cup

(CFL Communications)