Hosting Grey Cup game, festival earns Vancouver $121.9 million in economic impact

VANCOUVER – Hosting the 2024 Grey Cup game and festival generated $121.9 million in economic impact for Vancouver, the CFL announced Wednesday. 

The economic impact figures were released in a summary this week by Sport Tourism Canada.

The economic total is highest generated for a Grey Cup in over 10 years.

The summary also revealed the Grey Cup generated $45.6 million of visitor spending.

The six-day festival reported a total attendance of 547,698 people with 53,365 coming from out of town. It was also recognized as Sport Tourism Canada’s Prestige Award as Canada’s 2024 marquee sporting event.

Other findings included:

— A total of 90, 399 people were reported to attend an average of 2.9 days and 4.7 different events.

— Ninety-six per cent of out-of-town attendees stayed overnight in Vancouver during their stay, with 65 per cent doing so in hotels/motels.

— A total of 615 local jobs supported the festival, of which 583 and over $30.1 million in wages were supported locally.

— Some 800 volunteers were involved in the planning and delivery of Grey Cup week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2025.