CITY CASHES IN ON FINA MEET

Success has mayor wanting more

It was the biggest event Windsor has ever hosted and Windsor was the smallest city to ever host it.

And according to a final report on the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25M), it was financially in the black, generated $32 million in local spending and promoted Windsor to the world.

“The event exceeded all stakeholder expectations and received critical acclaim from athletes, coaches, the media, broadcasters and sponsors around the world,” the report said.

“I think the results were very, very positive and I think the city should be looking at more opportunities when it makes sense,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said Monday, referring to the final report that showed a $146,311 surplus for the $11.3-million event that ran for six days last December. The report will be presented next week to council, when a representative from the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance will explain its analysis.

According to the CSTA assessment, the event generated: 5,877 spectators; $945,000 in visitor spending; 125 Windsor jobs worth $8.1 million in wages; and expenditures ( by the event and spectators) totalling $24.6 million, which spun off into $32 million in economic activity in Windsor. That doesn’t include an additional $2.7 million generated by the FINA World Aquatics Convention just prior to the championship.

Much of the money that went into the local economy came from taxpayers. Ontario gave $2.5 million, the federal government gave $3.5 million and Windsor spent $2.88 million, which is $116,000 less than the $3 million budgeted. That Windsor surplus was recently directed by council to help pay for the $750,000 refurbishment of a 99-year-old streetcar.

Dilkens said the final report shows the successful event was delivered “in the black.” The $146,000 surplus from the overall event really belongs to the federal and provincial government, but indications suggest the city will be allowed to keep it — to be redirected into aquatics equipment to help grow the sport of competitive swimming in the city.

The city’s deputy treasurer Tony Ardovini is “elated” by the financial results.

“To be able on an $11.3-million project of this magnitude, to come in with a surplus and fulfil all the obligations from FINA and get significant positive reviews from around the world, it was a positive experience all the way around,” he said.

The report also commends Windsor’s overall performance during the international event attended by 864 world-class swimmers (plus 591 officials, 431 FINA guests, 34 technical officials and 138 media personnel) fresh from the Olympic Games.

Two world records, five championship records and 11 continental records were set, featured during 30 hours of live streaming on CBC and six one-hour highlight programs on Rogers Sportsnet. Canada’s team won eight medals including two golds, setting new Canadian records in the temporary pool set up on the floor of the WFCU Centre’s main bowl.

The report says that the championship reached a global audience of 462 million — a 63 per cent increase in viewership over the 2014 championship in Doha, Qatar.

Most of the expenses came close to what was budgeted. Out of $11.1 million spent, almost $2 million went to pay for flights and local transportation and $1.62 million for hotel rooms and per diems for athletes, officials and FINA staff.

Attendance was not as high as projected. Organizers were budgeting for $350,000 from ticket sales but only collected $291,000. That was largely due to lower numbers on weeknights and a Friday night hampered by a snowstorm, said Ardovini. Saturday night attendance was near capacity at 2,373, but ranged between 1,500 Saturday morning to 2,184 on Friday morning.

Locals made up 73 per cent of attendees. People from elsewhere in Ontario attended an average of 4.65 sessions, while people from elsewhere in Canada attended 7.36 sessions and spent $747.

“For those of us who were there every day, we would have liked to see every seat full for every event, but that wasn’t the case,” Dilkens said. “But for those who did attend and have a chance to experience a world-class swimming event, I think we appreciate what we saw and understood the type of event we were hosting.”

Dilkens said attendees were thrilled watching stars of the swimming world set records and earn medals.

“It was a great event for Windsor,” he said, because it raised the profile of the community and made an economic impact. The mayor said sports tourism officer Samantha Magalas continues to court sporting events for the city, including a bid to land the 2022 World Police and Fire Games.

He said it was great for the city to get such exposure provincially, nationally and internationally. But the best benefit is that the FINA championship is a great accomplishment for the local tourism and development corporations to put on the community’s resume.

“It’s another tool in the tool box to go out and talk about this region and talk about what happens here.”

I think the results were very, very positive and I think the city should be looking at more opportunities when it makes sense.