4/18/2016
Victoria Royals’ winning ways seen as a boost for city economy
Victoria Royals’ winning ways seen as a boost for city economy
Andrew Duffy / Times Colonist April 14, 2016 06:00 AM
Victoria Royals celebrate the first of Jack Walker's two goals in a 3­2 win over the Kelowna Rockets in Game 2 of their series
Saturday night at Save­on­Foods Memorial Centre. Photograph By DARREN STONE, Times Colonist
They won a regular­season championship and drew strong crowds. They secured home­ice advantage for the
playoffs — meaning more games at home than on the road in the post­season. And this year’s Victoria Royals
stirred up more buzz around the city than in any of their past five seasons.
It’s a recipe for what is likely to be an economically healthy year for the Royals, who are in the midst of what could
be a long playoff run, and possibly an economic boon for the city.
Despite a 3­2 loss to the Kelowna Rockets Tuesday night, the Royals still have a 2­1 lead in the best­of­seven,
second­round playoff series. It’s a lead that suggests the economic ride for the team is far from over.
But the team’s management sees the winning of the Scotty Munro Trophy, as WHL champion, and the playoff run,
their fifth playoff appearance in their fifth season in Victoria, as more of a building block than a potential financial
windfall.
“From a hockey perspective the [regular season crown and a playoff run] is very meaningful for the gate for sure,”
said general manager Cameron Hope. “It’s a struggle in this business, especially when you’re on an Island. We
probably have the highest expenses in the league because of travel.
“So when we get home games in the playoffs it really helps cover some of those losses.”
Teams in the WHL tend not to divulge operating budgets, but it’s understood they are typically in the $2­million to $3­
million range.
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Victoria Royals’ winning ways seen as a boost for city economy
Hope won’t divulge the financial impact of a home game, or a home playoff game.
The team was knocked out in the first round in its first two seasons in Victoria and eliminated in the second round
the past two seasons.
“The show we put on is expensive. It’s a professional­level, almost NHL­level production, at WHL prices. And we
are a ticket­revenue­driven business. There’s no outside revenue like the big leagues, so playoffs really mean a lot,”
he said.
Royals’ playoff tickets range from $13 for children to $28 for club seats.
“We do our best, like everyone else in the entertainment business, to beat our own drum, but it takes a while for
anyone to get traction even though hockey is big on the south Island,” Hope said.
Team owner Graham Lee likes to think of his team’s success as part of building up the social capital. “The more
success the team has — and it’s the same with all of the events at the arena — the more social capital we create
for the city, and the more social capital the more people are invested in the community and in the things around
them. From that perspective I think [the Royals’ success] is huge,” he said.
Lee concedes a long playoff run helps on the financial side of the ledger, and goes beyond the confines of the arena.
“It also helps all parts of what we’re doing around the city, the bars, the restaurants and bringing people into the city
to see the games,” he said.
“The team winning creates more interest overall, it’s no different than having Aerosmith coming through creating
more interest on the music side. When the team is winning, and winning the overall season title, it’s great for the
city and pride within the city.”
John Walters, manager of Boston Pizza’s location on Hillside Avenue, two blocks from the arena, is hoping to see
pride in the Royals grow through a long playoff run.
“They definitely have an impact on us, there’s almost always a bump before games. Around 6 p.m. on game nights
we can get hit pretty hard,” he said, noting that’s especially true on weekend games and during playoffs.
Walters said he often sees a broad spectrum — families, groups of friends, couples young and old — eating while
wearing Royals blue before heading to the arena on game nights.
Paul Nursey, chief executive of Tourism Victoria, said it may be hard to nail down a number, but the Royals’ impact
is real.
“We are delighted with and proud of the Victoria Royals’ incredible season. While direct benefits to the tourism
industry are hard to measure precisely, I am sure it is beneficial,” he said. “A long playoff run would mean more
home games, with visiting teams staying in town, more business at restaurants and bars, and generally more
publicity for Victoria in general.”
Hope said it’s also hard for the team to measure how well it has done in building the brand, given they are
surrounded by fans and sponsors all the time.
“But I do feel it, and it’s something you can’t manufacture without creating an authentic product that people like,” he
said. “And part of that is winning, doing it right and putting on a good show. And if it builds, more people come and
the more exciting it is. The more excitement, the happier sponsors are and more sponsors want to come.”
Hope said they have seen attendance grow year­over­year the past two seasons, and estimates they average more
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Victoria Royals’ winning ways seen as a boost for city economy
than 5,000 on weekends and just under 4,000 on weekdays. Capacity is 7006.
Toward the end of the season, the Royals started seeing crowds of about 6,000, which can carry into the playoffs.
“With the excitement that’s been around the team this year, hopefully we will see that again,” he said.
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