Fort St. John city council is taking steps to establish the city as a regional hub for sports tourism.
Council directed staff to develop a formal application to allow the city to bid on hosting events.
Highlights from the proposal prepared by city staff include hosting a national event in three years, as well as two regional events in 2030, while maintaining relationships with local sports organizations.
“The plan aims to strengthen the city’s role in organizing and promoting sports tourism, attract more frequent and diverse high-caliber events, and generate measurable economic benefits for local businesses,” explained staff in a report.
An early step in the city’s five year plan includes applying to Sports Tourism Canada, who operate in partnership with the federal Canadian Tourism Commission. After receiving approval, the city would bid for events with the support of local sports organizations.
“For an event to take place, the bid is often done one (to) three years in advance and the city would require its general bid documents developed to respond to expressions of interest,” said Fort St John city staff.
As the plan remains under development, they will prepare “bid document templates through Sport Tourism Canada and (the documents) will be brought back to council for approval.”
Fort St. John has previously hosted events such as the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge a decade ago and the 2020 B.C. Winter Games. Staff reported estimated economic impacts of $1.2 million and $1.8 million, respectively, from those events.
“These outcomes demonstrate the significant economic and community benefits of sport tourism and Fort St John and the city’s capacity to delivery high quality events,” they explained.
Feedback from six local sport organizations informed the report prepared by city staff.
“The sport tourism plan complements the parks and recreation master plan by optimizing the use of existing facilities,” wrote staff in their report.
The new sporting event plan will align with the rollout of other foundational documents, including the official community plan and the city’s tourism strategies. Like other guiding documents, this plan will be revised every five years.
