Mayor Mike Muzychka says the Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling, coming to Olds next spring, will be "fantastic" for the community as a whole and local businesses in particular.
It was announced Friday via Sportsnet that the event, expected to attract the top 15 men's and top 15 women’s curlers in the world, will be held April 21 to 26, 2020 on the main ice surface of the Sportsplex as part of the 2020 Humpty’s Champions Cup.
"We're very much looking forward to it. I think this will be fantastic," Muzychka said during an interview with the Albertan.
"This is just going to help put Olds on the map, I think. It's very, very exciting. There'll be just a ton of TV coverage around that. And curling is so strong in Alberta and Canada that yeah, I think we're going to get some great exposure from it."
Muzychka said the economic spinoff for the town will be "massive."
"I only wish we had about three more hotels for that week," he said jokingly.
"It's everything from hotels to restaurants," Muzychka said. "I think our retail will see some boom because a lot of people will be in the area for the entire week and it's not going to be taken up the whole time with curling so they'll have to have some other things to do. So hopefully they shop and do all the other great things and spend money."
He said further announcements regarding details like ticket prices are expected to be made in the future.
