Sports tourism generated $18M for Lethbridge in 2024: report

A new report shows that sport tourism in Lethbridge contributed $18 million to the southern Alberta city's economy last year.

LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. — A new report by the Lethbridge Sport Council shows sporting events generated more than $18 million for the local economy in 2024.

“There were 28 sports that contributed to these numbers in 35 different sport venues,” said Susan Eymann, executive director of the Lethbridge Sport Council.

“There were around 40 host organizing committees, so it is such a variety of events all year round.”

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The economic impact report includes data from 214 single- and multi-day sporting events in Lethbridge last year, accounting for 62 per cent of all events.

“The majority of the economic impact of that $18 million are regional and provincial events that are hosted quite often annually,” said Eymann. “Not very many of the $18 million are one-off events.”

In 2024, four basketball events, including the Battle of the Bridge, generated $1,181,062.

Six long-standing running events contributed $502,523, while the annual Floorbusters lacrosse tournament brought in $397,094.

Five disc golf events accounted for $189,979, a single rugby event generated $427,570, and three ringette events, including the University Challenge Cup, had a combined impact of $1,248,198.

“We know that when we see that economic impact number, we know it’s going into hotels, restaurants, local businesses, and that number is getting higher and higher every year that we do it,” said Dominika Wojcik, senior director of communications with Tourism Lethbridge.

The report says that the sport tourism industry in Canada accounts for $7.4 billion annually.

Both the sport council and Tourism Lethbridge say the new dollar figure will help when attracting more events to the city and bidding on future national and international events.

“When people visit us for sports or a business event, they are 70 per cent more likely to come back again to enjoy a leisure visit,” explained Wojcik.

“So, we know that bringing people here for a reason is just as important as showcasing our other attractions and experiences that Lethbridge has.”

Eymann says the projected economic impact is calculated using Sport Tourism Canada’s Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model, which incorporates the latest information from Statistics Canada to measure the impact of events that attract out-of-town participants and spectators.

“We know that sport is a great connector and it helps develop our sport organizations, but it’s nice to have this (dollar amount) to back it,” she said.