Members of Canada’s Armed Forces rapelled from a helicopter Sunday afternoon at The Forks with precious cargo — the Grey Cup.
The day helped mark the beginning of Grey Cup week, which is also known to many as the CFL’s biggest party of the year, and will culminate with the league’s championship game on Nov. 16 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
“It’s just a big celebration, it’s a big party,” said Kristin Orvis, who was at Sunday’s event and is going to the Grey Cup game.
“All the festivities [and] just seeing everyone come in from across Canada, it’s a good time.”
Grey Cup arrives by helicopter at The Forks
Thousands of fans will pack Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium for the big game, which was announced as a sellout last week. There are also events happening in the city’s downtown area as part of the Grey Cup Festival, which has free and ticketed offerings for people to take part in.
A provincial spokesperson said on Friday it’s estimated that the big game and additional festivities will result in “a more than $90-million boost in economic activities, including $8.2 million in provincial tax revenues. ”
“Hosting the Grey Cup in Winnipeg and festival in Winnipeg isn’t just a celebration, it’s a major economic driver,” said Nellie Kennedy, the province’s minister of Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism during a news conference Sunday.
“This event boosts local businesses, attracts visitors and puts Manitoba in the national spotlight.”
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham echoed the minister’s thoughts and said businesses stand to make big gains during the week.
“It’s great for our restaurants, it’s great for our shops where people will come and buy some local products,” he said.
At Devil May Care on Fort Street — about a 10 minute walk from the RBC Convention Centre which has been dubbed “Grey Cup HQ” — general manager and owner Colin Coop hopes they’ll be able to cash in on the excitement.
Coop said the local brewery and tap room sometimes sees a “quiet period” in the fall, but is looking forward to the event driving large amounts of people to downtown Winnipeg.
“We’re a bit of an unknown quantity out there, one of these smallest breweries certainly … in the city and in the province” he said. “Any opportunity to show people what we do well is definitely something I look forward to.”
About 50 per cent of patrons are usually tourists, but with swaths of people expected to visit Winnipeg from around Canada, Coop said he hopes that number will double.
“We’re right in the middle of downtown so there’s lots of hotels around,” said Coop. “I know all the hotels are going to be packed up and we’re kind of … in the middle of it.”
Speaking to CBC News Friday, Manitoba Hotel Association president and CEO Micahel Juce said there was still hotel space in the city, but encouraged football fans who hadn’t booked a space to act quick.
There are over 7,000 rentable rooms in the city, he said.
“It’ll be a nice large boost, I think we’re expecting likely around 5,000 rooms a night, which is obviously great to see,” said Juce.
One thing that will be missing from the festivities this year is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who won’t play in the league’s championship game for the first time since 2018.
However, that’s not stopping Blue Bombers fans like Orvis from getting in on the fun.
“It’s been like 10 years, I volunteered at the last one,” she said. “It’s just great, it’s great for the city, it’s great for the province.”
Daniel and Cheryl Graham, who have been going to Grey Cups for more than a decade and are going to their first CFL championship game since 2019, are also looking forward to the celebration.
“I just think the social aspect of it, the socialness of it, it is true … Manitoba is friendly Manitoba,” said Cheryl Graham. “Everybody will welcome everybody into town.”
