Canada's World Cup win delivers record boost to downtown Vancouver businesses
Thursday's 6-0 victory brought tens of thousands to Granville Street. Some businesses saw 10 times their normal daily revenue in a single day.
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Canada's first-ever men's World Cup win on home soil sent downtown Vancouver into euphoria Thursday, and businesses along Granville Street cashed in.
Nate Sabine, director of business development at Blueprint, an entertainment company, said Thursday's revenue from FIFA festivities was ten times higher than normal. "It was far and away the best day of business we ever had," he told CityNews. Another business reported bringing in more sales in a single hour than they typically see in a week.
"I think everybody is seeing this on the strip; it's unbelievable. That's the only word for it," Sabine said. He noted the entertainment district had been struggling for years before FIFA arrived, and hopes the pedestrian zone becomes a permanent summertime tradition.
Sabine compared the crowds to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. "The locals and the international visitors alike have really banded together; this is ideal, and the number of people on the street that are celebrating it is so much more intense than 2010," he said.
Not all Vancouver businesses are sharing in the windfall. Hospitality venues across the bridges — outside the downtown core and FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE — report a softer start. Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association, said many businesses outside downtown are relying on locals rather than tourists. "It's not the waves of people that they were hoping for," he said.
Vancouver's Westend BIA reported mixed results: some businesses noted little difference in sales, while others saw increases.