‘Biggest event we’ve had in the last couple of years’: Manitoba awaits Riders fans ahead of West final

As the Saskatchewan Roughriders look to upset the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s West Division final on Sunday, one of the real winners will be Manitoba’s economy.

Scott Jocelyn, the president and CEO of the Manitoba Hotel Association, says the Riders’ victory over the Calgary Stampeders in Sunday’s West semifinal in Regina gave him more joy than he would like to admit.

“It probably would have been the one time in our history in Winnipeg that we would have been cheering for the Riders,” Jocelyn said Wednesday.

“We were hoping that it was the Riders and the Bombers (in the West final) and, lo and behold, it is. As soon as (Sunday’s) game was over, hotels were getting phone calls from people trying to make the plan to come up here and see the game.”

The local economy in Winnipeg is expected to get a big jolt from the West final, even though Jocelyn says he isn’t sure yet how many people will end up travelling to the Manitoba capital or how much money the game will generate for the city.

“When we have the Banjo Bowl (in September), the impact that weekend has when all the good folks from Saskatchewan come here is huge,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a good game and the city is looking forward to welcoming people from Saskatchewan.”

One thing Jocelyn does know, though, is that Sunday will provide a really good “shot in the arm.”

“I would think this would be the biggest, probably the biggest event we’ve had in the last couple of years,” he said. “It will be a good weekend to celebrate, hopefully, for us to celebrate a victory.

“It’s great to see that the Riders are going to kind of try and knock us from the repeat that we’re hoping to get.”

The Bombers are the defending Grey Cup champions. The winner of Sunday’s game will face the winner of the East Division final in the CFL’s championship game Dec. 12.