A screen grab from the city's sports video. (YouTube/City of Prince Albert)  : Glenn Hicks

By Glenn Hicks

POWER OF SPORT

City of P.A. produces sports hosting video

Feb 25, 2019 | 5:07 PM

The city of Prince Albert has produced a promotional video highlighting its merits as a top sports event destination.

The city hosted some big tournaments in the last year or so and officials hope the video can help further bolster a growing reputation for putting on a good show.

The video, which runs for over three minutes, is a montage of a number of successful events such as the World Junior Softball, Canadian Junior Curling Championships, and tournaments held in the Alfred Jenkins Field House. The video is not only aimed at engendering a sense of pride among residents, according to Bruce Vance, the city’s marketing and sponsorship coordinator.

“It’s also to show the rest of the sporting world around Canada that we do put on some very good events, and to try to entice other associations to bring their event to our city,” he told paNOW.

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Vance said the piece would be a “living video” as it would be updated regularly as other forthcoming events like the national archery championships and Esso Cup hockey are hosted here.

“We have a very rich sporting community thanks to the many volunteers and we want to celebrate that while hopefully bringing more events to the city,” Vance said.

“It’s a huge marketing tool for us.” _{Bruce Vance}

The video can be seen on the city’s website and YouTube channel and will also be screened at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) congress in Ottawa next month, at which Prince Albert’s very successful hosting of the world softball event is up for a Sport Event of the Year award.

“It’s a huge marketing tool for us, these associations can just click on the video and it’s an instant view of what the city has to offer in terms of facilities and support,” Vance said.

He added the cost of producing the video came from the city’s annual budget of around $60,000 for all marketing, sponsorship and advertising.

Hosting sports events is a major economic driver for Prince Albert and a city official said the video was a way of promoting that fact and letting the public know the benefits.

“It’s why people choose P.A. as a destination,” Jody Boulet, the director of community services told paNOW. “We’ve been [hosting events] for many years; the problem is we haven’t been telling anyone and documenting that impact.”

Boulet referenced last year’s softball tournament as an event that brought in over $11 million in economic benefits to the city.

“Making sure we’re communicating that return on our investment and our services is a key discussion point such as budget deliberations and going to organizations for funding,” he said. “I think that really helps with the support we get as well.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow