"It would sure say we're a major league city. It would say we have the spending power and the economic base to support a sport at the very highest level that it's played at in the world. Professional sports isn't a charity, it only goes where it thinks it can make a decent buck and only stays as long as it thinks it will keep making a decent buck," McCallum said.
"We've got an economy with one million people that cranks out about $50 billion a year in GDP. I think the numbers work here. I think the economic base exists here."
Major draw
The return of the Jets, or whatever the team might be called, would instantly make Winnipeg a destination location for people as far west as Regina, east to Thunder Bay and south to Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota. Coupled with other attractions, such as an IKEA store and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, both of which are scheduled to open in a couple of years, Winnipeg's future is becoming increasingly bright, he said.
"It will be a real positive if you can get people to come here for a four-day weekend for these attractions," he said.
Dave Angus, the president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, agreed. He said the return of the Jets - or perhaps the Atlanta Thrashers, a second NHL team that could be relocated before this fall - would be a significant branding opportunity for Winnipeg.
"We know what sports franchises mean to a city in terms of international branding and awareness and the positioning of our city in terms of being a major city in Canada. It helps to have that recognition when you're trying to do trade development or chamber-to-chamber work to identify opportunities to different areas around the world. That's an asset that can be leveraged for economic gain," he said.
"That's the magic of professional sports. It's up to us to incorporate that asset into our strategy and use it to our advantage."
Angus said last month's announcement that a world-class polar bear exhibit will open at the Winnipeg zoo in 2013 will be a "tourist magnet."
On top of that, the nearly finished new terminal building at the Richardson International Airport and the recently approved new stadium for the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the University of Manitoba campus will continue to transform the city.
"People who haven't been here for a few years will be amazed," he said.
Angus said he's also optimistic that the efforts of Yes! Winnipeg, a private-sector-led initiative with a two-pronged goal to attract corporate head offices to Winnipeg and to increase the size of current firms in the city, will bear fruit, too.
He said it has already played an instrumental role with three companies that have decided to open or expand in the city and it currently has 37 active opportunity files under development across nine sectors. They include trying to convince a prominent U.S.-based retailer to establish its Canadian head office and regional distribution centre in Winnipeg and a Quebec-based company to select Winnipeg as the site for a new hospitality concept.
"We're going to see announcements coming from them in terms of job creation and the attraction and expansion of companies locally that will continue over the next few years. I've never seen so much momentum in my 11 years [at the chamber] related to economic development," he said.
Housing
The good vibrations throughout the city are expected to trickle down to Winnipeg's housing market, too. It should remain strong for 2011 and the foreseeable future, primarily due to the city's vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent, which is among the lowest in the country, according to Wes Schollenberg, a principal with Avison Young and manager director of its Winnipeg office.
"You just can't rent in Winnipeg," he said. "If you sold your house and were an empty nester and wanted an apartment, you can't find one. Even if you were going to spend $1,500 per month, it would be very difficult to find one," he said.
The average house in Winnipeg is a 1,100-square-foot, three-bedroom bungalow that sells for about $240,000. Schollenberg said the market rose between 8 per cent and 10 per cent in 2010 and it's expected to do about the same this year.
He said the strength of the market can be partly attributed to the 15,000 immigrants who come to Manitoba every year, with about half of them settling in Winnipeg. Not only do they put pressure on the apartment and housing stock, but they also help out in related areas by spurring the sales of appliances, furniture, decks and food.
"The big home centres are very busy. There is a significant amount of cocooning going on. People are doing more renovating [to their homes] than ever before," he said.
Tight market
Demand for industrial space is on the rise in Winnipeg as nearly all of the current stock, most of which was built in the 1970s, has low ceilings and isn't very energy efficient, is virtually all leased up, according to Avison Young. Schollenberg said Winnipeg's retail vacancy rate is at its lowest point in 15 years while the office vacancy rate remains stable at around 9 per cent.
McCallum believes Winnipeg will perform slightly better than the Canadian economy in terms of gross domestic product and job creation in 2011 thanks, in part, to many local businesses that have carved out niche markets selling into the U.S.
"We're not going to lead the country but I think Winnipeg will put up some pretty solid numbers," Schollenberg said.
from Western Investor, April 2011
