Quebec City loses Red Bull Crashed Ice race

Women racers compete in the Red Bull Crashed Ice Worald Championship Saturday March 22, 2014 in Quebec City. Crashed Ice is a world tour in the winter extreme sporting event which involves downhill skating and the racers are usually ice hockey players. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Clement Allard

Quebec City is losing one of its biggest winter events, as the wildly popular Red Bull Crashed Ice race will be moved out west, it was announced Tuesday.

For the last nine years about 100,000 fans have attended the annual event in Quebec’s provincial capital, which is free to attend and takes place in the scenic old city.

The Quebec City event is the final event on the World Championship and was won this year by the Austrian Marco Dallago on March 22.

About 200 men and 28 women compete for glory in the race, which features skaters careening downhill at breakneck speeds of up to 70 km/h. The annual event had a budget of $5 million but brought an estimated $10 million in economic spinoffs to Quebec City.

The announcement was officially made at a news conference held late Tuesday.

“Edmonton is one of Canada’s truly great winter cities,” Edmonton city councillor Amarjeet Sohi said in a press release. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for winter with the world. Red Bull Crashed Ice celebrates our city’s love of winter sports and our commitment to bringing world-class events to our city.”

The City of Edmonton is putting $400,000 to the event’s total cost, while the province is contributing $300,000 – meanwhile Edmonton Destination Hotels will put forward $200,000 and Travel Alberta is covering $100,000.