By Cheryl Jahn

No Concerts, Conventions

No Conferences tough for the City

May 14, 2020 | 11:58 AM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Province is set to begin a move into Phase Two of its Restart Plan next week. That will allow for day-use of provincial campgrounds, small gatherings will be permitted, the resumption of elective surgeries, the re-opening of some retail operations and expanded public education. Phase Three will expand on that even further.

“Phase Four won’t be enacted until there’s a vaccine, treatments for COVID-19 or community immunity has been achieved. Until these things happen, BC will not be hosting rock concerts and conventions or any other large gatherings beyond 50 people.”

Those were the words of Premier John Horgan last week, outlining the final phase of the plan.

But it is bad news for local governments, like the City of Prince George. The municipality is losing a million dollars a month in revenue, half of which can be attributed to the close of civic facilities such as the Conference and Civic Centre and the CN Centre.

“Just to put it into context, the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, in a year, generates about a $5.5 million dollars impact in the community,” explains Melissa Barcellos, Manager of Economic Development. “That’s jobs within that centre to jobs in restaurants and hotels, generating hotels nights for delegates that come to town. It has a massive impact locally.”

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She adds the CN Centre alone brings an average of 250,000 people to the city every year for things like concerts and hockey games.

But those are the tangibles.

Barcellos often attends the conventions and conferences with an eye to selling the city to investors. Calculating those losses is impossible.

“It’s really the best opportunity to showcase our city, to attract investment, to attract new residents, to attract students to the university and the college,” says Barcellos. “I mean, getting them here, feet on the ground, experiencing what our city has to offer, we’ll definitely be missing out on that.”

She says, if there is any kind of silver lining, it is that the City and others have been able to connect more frequently with the use of technology.