With the local tourism sector on the way to recovery and professional sports like the PWHL in full swing post-pandemic, the puck is about to drop on a busy year for Ottawa sports tourism – and hockey is at the top of the list.
With the local tourism sector on the way to recovery and professional sports back in full swing post-pandemic, the puck is about to drop on a busy year for Ottawa sports tourism – and hockey is at the top of the list.
Last week, Ottawa’s entry in the fledgling Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) took to the ice with a game against Montreal at TD Place that attracted a record crowd for women’s hockey in North America.
Meanwhile, the region hosted the Bell Capital Cup in December and last June got the news that Ottawa will host the 2025 world junior championship. As a result, local officials say, the city is well-positioned as a hotspot for hockey tourism.
“We had a bit of a pause during the pandemic, but we’ve recovered very nicely and there are lots of opportunities coming up for hosting more and more international events,” said Lesley Pincombe, vice-president of meetings and major events at Ottawa Tourism.
PWHL, World Juniors contributing to Ottawa's hockey economy
“Ottawa hockey fans have a lot to look forward to,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at the announcement last month of provincial funding for the 2025 world juniors, which will run from Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025. “We’re expecting this event will generate something like $50 million in economic development for our city, as well as just being a fantastic event for our city to get behind.”
Steve Ball, president of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, said local hotels see business from teams and fans on game days, whether it's the PWHL or the Ottawa Senators, but the “big news” this year will be the world juniors.
“That will fill hotels with teams, staff, media and fans. The economic impact from that event is huge for Ottawa and comes at a time of need between Christmas and into the new year,” Ball wrote in an email to OBJ. “The Bell Canada Cup also attracts teams from all over the world, so hotels benefit from that business as well.”
At Ottawa Tourism, Pincombe works with sports organizations and event-holders wanting to host sporting events by painting a picture of “what it might look like in our city.”
While it may be hard to measure the economic impact in its entirety, she says it’s palpable.
Economic impact of hockey on Ottawa
“We’re realizing quickly in tourism … that there’s tremendous economic impact from any type of sporting event,” Pincombe explained. “For the world juniors, for example, people will fly in, use hotels, go shopping, go out to eat, and leave their visitor dollars here and it's all tremendous.
“But we’re also looking to focus extra attention on the legacy it leaves behind,” she continued. “Each one of these events creates a real roster of future athletes from our region, and it’s hard to put a value on that.
For Ottawa in particular, the love of hockey is nothing new.
“I think we are a hockey region, there’s no question about it. We have a long history of hockey in our city,” Pincombe said. “On Sparks Street, you can go look at the (Lord Stanley's Gift) Stanley Cup Monument. Or at the Bytown Museum, you can see the first picture and historical record of women playing hockey in 1890. They have great archives on that.
“In some respects, women playing hockey in Ottawa isn't that new,” Pincombe continued. “But we’ve also been hosting parahockey, formerly sledge hockey, so we’re looking to see what more we can do from a hockey perspective.”
While Ottawa has always been a “hockey city,” she says things are changing a bit, especially when it comes to women’s sports, which have seen great success in Ottawa.
She points to the 2022 CP Canadian Women's Open golf tournament as one of the “best events of the year” with “record numbers.”
“I think it was due in large part to Brooke’s brigade,” Pincombe said, referring to LPGA star Brooke Henderson, who grew up in Smiths Falls. “She has a massive following of young women and young athletes, which is phenomenal to see. But in the last 10 years, we’ve been seeing some pretty big and significant wins and maybe some sports or even women in sports or parasports that would not necessarily have been top of mind for some people.
“I think our spectators and community is changing, and what they want to see here is changing, and we’re seeing record numbers,” she continued. “We witnessed history with the PWHL and saw the largest attendance in North America, we have the world juniors to look forward to, and it’s all proof that this is just the beginning of what we can do here.” 
