As the Stanley Cup playoffs begin in North America, hockey fans around the world have been excitedly watching to see which team will get to take home one of the most coveted trophies in all sports.
Being the national winter sport of Canada, Canadian hockey fans are some of the most passionate and dedicated sports fans. However, given the unfortunate circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, most Canadian hockey fans were barred from going to live playoff games in 2020 and 2021.
Hockey and the pandemic
During the 2021 playoffs, the federal government granted special travel exemptions that enabled Canadian and American teams to travel back and forth without having to go through a quarantine period.
Despite this, players still needed to go through daily coronavirus tests and live in a modified bubble, where they did not have contact with the general public.
This was especially true in 2021 as the Montreal Canadiens went on a Cinderella-like run to the Stanley Cup finals before eventually falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning within five games.
In addition to being an exciting time for hockey fans, the NHL playoffs can be attributed to some economic growth for local economies. As the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs represent three of the 16 teams chasing the Stanley Cup, these localized economies are expected to benefit most from their teams making the playoffs.
On top of enabling stadiums to operate at full capacity, local bars and other restaurants are also expected to operate at full capacity during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Spectator Sports industry
Along with local communities profiting from increased consumer demand, the Spectator Sports industry in Canada is also forecast to benefit from the NHL playoffs returning in full force. However, this is despite only three out of seven Canadian teams making the 2022 playoffs.
In addition, two out of the three Canadian teams in the playoffs are regarded as major and other players within the industry.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the largest players in this industry, and accounted for 6.9% of industry revenue in 2021 (latest data available), while the Calgary Flames are expected to account for 3.7% of industry revenue in 2021.
For example, in 2015, when five Canadian teams made the playoffs, Moody’s Analytics estimated that $100.0 million was injected into the general economy from fans attending the games and going to local bars and restaurants (latest data available).
On a local level, it was estimated that one playoff game represents around $3.0 million in economic activity.
Although restaurants and bars will most likely be packed across the country, Ontario and Alberta are expected to endure the most demand. The Leafs will play out of Scotiabank Arena in Ontario, while the Oilers play out of Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB, and the Flames play from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.
Since Alberta has two teams competing for the Stanley Cup, they are anticipated to experience the most economic activity.
Other important industries
According to a 2015 impact study by Scotiabank and Canadian Tire, hockey attributes $2.6 billion to Canadian communities each year, with more than 50.0% being attributed to hockey-related tourism (latest data available).
As a result, increasing tourism figures from a recovering economy are also expected to aid the spectator sports industry, along with full-service restaurants and bars and nightclubs industries.
In addition, transportation industries are also expected to benefit during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. More specifically, the scheduled air transportation and the public transportation industries will likely prosper the most from the influx of foot traffic generated due to the playoffs.
Scheduled air transportation is expected to endure more demand as players must be transported to and from arenas, typically via planes. Further, this industry will also cater to diehard fans that are willing to travel by plane to see their team play in a playoff game.
The same logic holds true for the public transportation industry; however, this industry mainly serves local communities to transport people to the stadium or city centre and then back to their homes.
While this industry may not experience the same boosts as other transportation industries, public transportation is likely to still experience some growth in 2022 as more consumers wish to watch the playoffs away from home. This is particularly true as more pandemic-related restrictions are lifted across Canada.
Main takeaways
Although the Canadian economy does not fully rely on hockey-related spending to spur economic growth, late spring is always a popular time as hockey fans gear up to watch their favorite team compete for the Stanley Cup or unwind with some playoff-level hockey action.
However, when one or more Canadian teams are in a playoff run, many Canadian fans will stop at no expense to support their favorite club, either by attending a live game or viewing it at a local establishment with like-minded fans. In turn, this will likely support tourism-related industries, such as scheduled air transportation and spectator sports.
Overall, the expected increase in consumer spending during the NHL playoffs is sure to support various aspects of the Canadian economy, particularly after a harsh two-year pandemic period.
