INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHT SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

As a sought-after destination, Niagara is home to several world-class venues that support sporting events large and small and entertainment venues varying in scale from intimate arts and culture events to large theatre performances and concerts. The industry itself has seen a tremendous impact over the past two years, however, amidst challenge is a firm focus on advancement, innovation and positive traction forward.

As the landscape in Niagara prepares for the upcoming Canadian Summer Games for 2022, the emphasis on environmental sustainability holds a large presence and when it comes to sports there is no reason Niagara cannot lead the world in developing ways that sports can have less environmental impact. With the Walker Sports and Ability Centre at the Canada Games Park generating 45% less greenhouse emissions and being 35% more efficient than a normal Canadian building, the Niagara region has communicated its desire to create a legacy for advocating environmentalism in the sports industry.

“The Niagara Host Society will establish an N22 Green Team during the Games that will educate, provide awareness, and assist in waste diversion efforts, while also ensuring measures are in place to reduce the overall Games footprint and provide baseline tracking for future Games.” Confirms Christopher Séguin, Manager, Media & Communications for the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.

“Canada Games Council is planning to secure carbon offsets for the air travel of all athletes, coaches, and officials for the 2022 Canada Games — if successful, this would mark the first Canada Games to ever offset carbon emissions from all participant travel.” Said Chris.

In similar capacity and vision, Niagara College held a virtual summit in March of 2021 to specifically address sustainability and sport, and how this can relate directly to the construction and design of buildings. The assigned Sustainability Committee plans to hold another summit in the Niagara region in March of 2022 to further engage and plan towards the future of sports and environmentalism.

With respect to community sports, and according to a survey from Canadian Tire Jumpstart and Ipsos, the largest impact is directly tied to children and youth sports. Research conducted in January 2021 showed that 3 in 10 sports organizations are permanently closing, and 1 in 3 are facing bankruptcy. The impacts are even greater on children, out of 1,000 parents surveyed with children aged 4 to 17, two thirds of them stated the pandemic played a large part in their ability to participate. They also stated their children are showing signs of anxiety and are participating in less physical activity overall. Jumpstart began an initiative to help sports organizations beginning in 2020, and have helped over 700 sports organizations, impacting over 70,000 kids, as well as supporting equity and diversity inclusions.

“Sport is a crucial part of the experience industry and provides people with personal and memorable ways to connect to sport and recreation. Coming out of COVID-19, people need both entertaining and active participation opportunities. Niagara businesses and sporting providers can fulfill this need through creative services and programming.” Said Julie Stevens, Ph. D, Special Advisor to the President – Canada Games.

Outside of sports entertainment, the event venue spaces are working to deliver an attractive line up of shows and concerts. Live concerts have been one of the most anticipated events returning since the beginning of COVID-19, For example, and the Niagara Falls Music Live Festival will host over 75 concerts in six days to meet demands and interest. The series will take place December 27th, 2021, through to January 1, 2022, and invite visitors and local music lovers get back to what they enjoyed and make memories with those around them.

Whether it be spectator sports, community film and theatre, or live concerts, there does not appear to be a shortage of visitation expected for Niagara, with Niagara Falls specifically being projected to be the highest in the country for hotel occupancy in 2022.

According to real estate firm CBRE, Niagara Falls is projected to have 59% occupancy of hotels in the 2022 year. This is a large jump from the 25% and 33% occupancy numbers for 2020 and 2021. CBRE projects that because of the increased demand for domestic travel amongst Canadians during the pandemic, plus the return of U.S. tourists and business travel, Niagara Falls will be at the top of the tourism industry in the nation. CBRE also states that while Niagara is projected to lead in the Canadian tourism industry for next year, their 59% occupancy is still eight points below what they were pre-pandemic. There are several reasons for this, such as resort areas benefiting at a higher rate, a lack of business travel, travel rules and regulations, paused hotel construction, and a lack of hotel transactions.

Overall, Niagara is well positioned entering 2022 and is focused on rebuilding and advancing is global positioning as a leader in sports, entertainment and recreation while investing in a more sustainable and community-rooted ecosystem.

|| Expert contribution by:

Julie Stevens, Ph.D

Special Advisor to the President Canada Games

An Associate Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Julie serves as lead on academic initiatives related to Brock’s involvement with the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Niagara.

Christopher Séguin

Manager, Media & Communications Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games

Bringing experience in journalism and media relations, Christopher is passionately exercising his special interests in Sports Media through his work with the Niagara 2022 Host Society.