2023 Brier in London, Ont. will bring '$8M-$10M in economic impact': Tourism London
The road to economic pandemic recovery in London, Ont. received a "significant boost" Monday when Curling Canada announced the Tim Hortons Brier would return to the Forest City next year.
The event will be held at Budweiser Gardens from March 3-12, 2023.
"To be honest, we've been planning this since 2012," says Peter Inch, one of three vice-chairs for the host committee.
That was just one year after the last time the City of London hosted Canada's premier curling event.
In 2011, the then-named John Labatt Centre saw more than 110,000 fans attend the Brier, which was won by Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton.
With hotel tax fund help from Tourism London, London's host committee was able to win the bid. The economic spinoff will be just what the city needs on the road to pandemic recovery.
"It's been significant what this pandemic has caused," says Zanth Jarvis, director of sport tourism at Tourism London.
"Just alone for the participants and Curling Canada, that's 2,200 hotel rooms right there. We're looking at a projected economic impact between $8 to $10 million. It's a significant boost, but this one event won't be all of the recovery as it's going to take a while."
However Jarvis calls this a step in the right direction.
"Today's announcement comes absolutely the right time," says London Mayor Ed Holder. "We need things to look forward to, and reasons to celebrate and hosting the 2023 Brier checks all those boxes."
London and the surrounding curling clubs are no strangers to hosting major events.
Budweiser Gardens hosted the Brier in 2011 and the 2006 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
It will be the third time the Canadian men’s championship has been contested in London; the 1974 Macdonald Brier, won by Alberta’s Hec Gervais, was played at the old London Gardens.
London’s history with major curling events is a rich one; the city has hosted highly successful editions of the Continental Cup of Curling in 2020 and 2018, as well as the 1981 World Men’s Championship.
"London is a fabulous city and they knock it out of the park every time they host a sporting event," says Katherine Henderson, CEO of Curling Canada.
"We partnered with them before. They've proven to us over and over again that they know how to do this and they know how to do it really well. These are always difficult decisions, but just going back to London and knowing the success that they've had in the past made this a much easier decision."
Inch called it a "long process" to get back to this point.
"The Continental Cups were a couple of what I call steps that we had to take before we felt confident of putting that bid forward again," says Inch.
London has a big volunteer base, and that helped in the bidding process.
"We always think the volunteers come from our curling clubs, but in London, our volunteers come from the community," says Inch.
"It's not just from the curling club and we saw that. We're very confident that we can provide a outstanding event with volunteers and knock it out of the park like we always do."
Information on how to volunteer and how to get tickets will be coming soon.
The event is 14 months away, but the hope is that the pandemic will be over, and this can be a traditional Brier with large crowds and parties around the city.
"We always take advice from public health and we always play the game as safely as we possibly can," says Henderson."At this point with Canada's commitment to public health or vaccine rates we are quite confident that coming to London, we're going to have a really terrific time."
The fan zone known as the 'Brier Patch' will be held at RBC Place London.
Henderson finished by saying "we want to be partying in that patch together."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.