110th Grey Cup game, festival earn Prestige Award as Canada's top large-budget event

Sport Tourism Canada has presented the 110th Grey Cup and 2023 Grey Cup Festival with its Prestige Award as Canada's event of the year with a budget over $1 million.

A recent Sport Tourism Canada survey found the '23 Grey Cup game and festival generated $73.5 million in economic impact in Canada.

The Grey Cup was held in Hamilton last November, with the Montreal Alouettes pulling out a 28-24 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The RBC Canadian Open golf tournament in Toronto, won by Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and the women's World Cup alpine skiing event in Mont-Tremblant, Que., were the other finalists.

The Prestige Awards are given out annually to recognize exceptional sport tourism initiatives, multisport games, and events.

"It's truly an honour to be recognized by Sport Tourism Canada as the Canadian Event of the Year," said Matt Afinec, President/COO of Business Operations, Hamilton Sports Group.

"The Prestige award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our fans, staff, volunteers and corporate and government partners to bring this bold vision to life."

The game and festival will also be recognized with the "Tourism Champion of the Year Recognition Award" in April by the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce said, in a press release, that "the total reported attendance over the six-day festival and at the championship game was 223,216. The 33,835 out-of-town guests who visited the region averaged 3.4 days in the host city and generated approximately $20.8 million in visitor spending."