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Oil bust putting damper on Calgary Stampede

Calgary Stampede hopes to buck economic downturn

Usually a sirloin-and-champagne affair, this year’s Calgary Stampede may be more of a hotdogs-and-lager event.

Dismal oil prices are putting a damper on celebrations but never has Calgary needed a party more.

“Stampede has always been a big party; it will continue to be a big party,” says David Howard, president of The Event Group, one of the largest event planning companies in the country. “They need a reason to right now. There’s a lot of doom and gloom… they need to let loose.”

Howard, whose company usually has one or two large corporate events a day during the 10-day western extravaganza that kicks off Friday, has seen his business dry up completely this year.

Beginning last fall, clients started talking about the bust in oil prices, which have plummeted from more than US$100 per barrel last July to nearly half that these days.

“This has been the worst corporate stampede ever, to the point that we’re out of it completely,” Howard tells Yahoo Canada News.

Companies that were spending anywhere from $200,000 to $1 million to host Stampede events have put their wallets away — and he doesn’t blame them.

“Quite frankly, if you’re a public company and your stock’s in half, shareholders aren’t going to be too thrilled if you have a million-dollar party,” he says.

Sponsorships down

Every year, Stampede organizers auction off sponsorship canvases for one of their premier events, the Rangeland Derby chuckwagon races.

The annual canvas auction for the Rangeland Derby, the stampede’s signature event, fell to $2.78 million this year.

Last year, sponsors bid a total of $3.54 million for tarps to be displayed on the chuckwagons, down from $3.605 million for the previous year. The 2012 centennial saw a record $4.015 million.

Corporate sales are down about 10 per cent, says Jennifer Booth, manager of public relations for the Stampede.

But local sales are up two per cent, regional sales up three per cent and international sales up about the same, she says.

“Things are looking good,” Booth tells Yahoo Canada News. “Obviously, we’re not immune to the economic situation in Alberta but I think we’re faring fairly well.”

Still a time to celebrate

It’s not the first time that oil prices have sagged. The Stampede has seen it before, she says.

But the economic doldrums and the low Canadian dollar encourage locals to vacation close to home and draws international visitors to Canada, she says.

“It basically puts Canada on sale,” she says. “Canada is typically a fairly expensive destination to visit so when our dollar is low… we do see a bit more visitation from the U.S. and the U.K.”

Stampede is a celebration, as much in tough years as it is in boom years, she says. Even the flood that devastated Calgary in 2013 didn’t stop the city from celebrating.

“Even when we’re going through hard times, whether it’s our economy or whether it’s a flood situation, we really do see the city of Calgary support one another and come together and have a celebration,” she says.

Howard says the downturn has been an “opportunity” for companies to rethink big, splashy corporate events for more private, focused events for clients and employees.

He expects local bars and restaurants may actually benefit from the subdued corporate celebrations.

“Companies that were putting on massive private events, now they’re saying I’m going to just rent a section of a bar and host my staff,” he says. “So these big, elaborate events are going to be scaled back but the local economy, I think, is going to see some growth.”

The Calgary Stampede officially kicks off Friday morning with a 9 a.m. parade.