Touchdown Kelowna brings sold-out crowd and economic boost - BERITAJA

A sold-out crowd packed Kelowna’s Apple Bowl connected Saturday arsenic the BC Lions took connected the Calgary Stampeders successful the first of 2 Canadian Football League games being played arsenic portion of the nine-day Touchdown Kelowna festival.

The stadium was transformed to accommodate about 18,000 fans, galore of whom travelled to the Okanagan to return successful the game.

“Kelowna has made america consciousness invited for sure, very welcome,” said a visiting instrumentality from Abbotsford.

Many shot fans booked their vacations about the brace of games.

“We’re staying the full week enjoying Kelowna and past we’re going to travel to the crippled adjacent week,” said 1 Calgary fan.

The influx of visitors is already being felt by section businesses.

At the Kelowna Beer Institute, business is up by about 30 per cent arsenic festival-goers research the city’s restaurants, breweries and events betwixt games.

“The municipality is buzzing,” said proprietor Chris Stirling. “There’s events each around, successful betwixt the 2 games, each about town. Thankfully, for us, they’re connected some sides of our business. As they locomotion by, they spot our patio, truthful it’s been great.”

Nearby, Rollz Ice Cream has extended its hours and accrued staffing to support up pinch demand.

The coming week is expected to beryllium particularly engaged pinch shot fever and galore taking successful Canada Day festivities.

“Because of Canada Day, visitors are coming, tons of visitors, from Calgary, from Vancouver,” said Mehak Dhindsa, who useful astatine the crystal pick parlour.

The City of Kelowna estimates Touchdown Kelowna will make betwixt $50 cardinal and $60 cardinal successful economical activity for the metropolis and surrounding region.

Mayor Tom Dyas said the arena is portion of a broader strategy to pull awesome sporting and intermezo events passim the year.

“Collectively erstwhile we look astatine totalling each events that person been to the organization complete the past year, twelvemonth and a half, it’s good beyond successful excess of $100 million,” Dyas said. “We’ll proceed to look astatine bringing it forward, particularly successful enarthrosis seasons.”

With different CFL crippled still to travel this play and show events continuing passim the week, galore businesses are hoping the momentum — and the spending — continues.

“Small businesses for illustration america struggle, and erstwhile the metropolis puts successful the effort to bring large events, we really spot the difference,” Stirling said.

The 2nd CFL crippled is scheduled for July 4 betwixt the BC Lions and Edmonton Elks.