Athletes from 17 countries are gathering in Ottawa this week for the international wheelchair basketball championships, the latest example of Ottawa’s growing reputation as a destination for sporting events.
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Athletes from 17 countries are gathering in Ottawa this week for the international wheelchair basketball championships, the latest example of Ottawa's growing reputation as a destination for sporting events.
So far this year, the city has hosted nearly 40 sporting events, including tournaments and championships, generating $75 million in economic impact for the city, according to Stephanie Seguin, vice-president of sales, business and major events for Ottawa Tourism.
Seguin told OBJ that sports have become a cornerstone of the organization’s tourism strategy.
"We don't want to think about sport events as one weekend on the calendar, but we want to think about them as a long-term investment in Ottawa's economy, reputation and community,” she said.
The IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships, taking place Sept. 9 to 19, will feature 336 athletes from men’s and women’s national teams. The event will include 28 teams in total from 17 countries. In addition to the players, the city is expecting to host hundreds of team staff members, officials and other support personnel as well.
It’s a massive event that Seguin said has required coordination between dozens of venues and businesses across the city, adding that the process to bring an event of this scale to Ottawa has been a long one.
“It’s at least eight years in the making,” she said. “I’ve been part of the team for the entire time, and what a beautiful story of that long-term relationship.”
Seguin said the event is just the latest example of how Ottawa is becoming a sporting destination, both in Canada and around the world.
Earlier this summer, another event demonstrated that growing reputation. For the second year in a row, the city hosted Ironman Canada-Ottawa, bringing almost 3,000 athletes from 72 countries into the capital to compete in a 226-kilometre triathlon. The city will host the event for a third time next summer.
“That continuity is important,” said Seguin. “The first event showcases us as what we're capable of doing. The second, maybe more on the credibility side, and then continued hosting builds the reputation."
As an outdoor event hosted downtown, she said Ironman showed off the city’s biggest tourism assets, while also displaying its competencies to new and existing event organizers.
“When you think of the backdrop of Ironman, you've got the Château Laurier, the Parliament, you've got Major's Hill Park. It's a stunning course and so any assets that are captured for an Ironman, that's what the world is seeing,” she said. “To have the downtown core be able to absorb such a massive undertaking, this is the power. It showcases us as being the city that can show up and do hard things and be successful."
She added that it’s a signal to other sports of what Ottawa is capable of and what else it could host.
“It's not only showcasing this city as a good city for triathlons, but if other sports that would utilize those assets see us as well, if they can do an Ironman, then they can do X, Y, Z,” she said. “That's the storytelling piece. Those needles are being moved.”
While Ironman and the wheelchair basketball championship are this year’s marquee events, Ottawa has attracted other sports events, including Hyrox at the Cohere Centre and Nitro Circus at Ottawa Stadium.
Plus, year-round, both locals and visitors have access to a steady stream of entertainment with local teams like Atlético Ottawa and Ottawa Rapid FC soccer clubs, the Senators NHL team and Redblacks football. The city has also hosted events such as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend for years, making the event a pillar of Ottawa’s sports tourism and a long-term anchor for the city’s broader tourism strategy.
"The goal is to make Ottawa increasingly recognized as a city that can successfully host major sporting events and we've done that year-over-year, but with the last two summers probably being at our best," Seguin said.
While the economic impact of sports tourism over the past two years has been significant, Seguin added that Ottawa Tourism isn’t only looking at the numbers.
"Success isn't always just simply asking how much economic impact did the year's event generate. We would never want to just lean into just purely the economic impact because that would be undervaluing the impact,” she said. “Really, what we like to lean into is the opportunity to turn those moments, those sporting events, into lasting value for the health and growth of the city."
With the wheelchair basketball championships, for example, she said the effects will be long-lasting.
“There are legacies left with events. A good example of legacy with wheelchair coming up is the readiness that our community is showing up to make sure that we're a more accessible destination,” she said.
“It’s a beautiful enhancement to the city, by hosting an event like wheelchair basketball. Lansdowne hosted an event for all the people involved, but also businesses, and did training to make sure these athletes are welcome. The education piece alone is a great legacy left.”
