Team Canada captain John Moonlight, front, takes a photo with other team captains at the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver on March 8.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Vancouver's Rugby Sevens Series is expected to draw visitors from around the globe – and though the chief executive officer of the event says it's getting difficult to find a hotel room, organizers are still trying to determine what the economic impact will be.
The two-day event kicks off Saturday, marking the first time Vancouver has hosted the Sevens Series.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, speaking at a news conference for the event Wednesday, said the city has excelled at hosting global sporting events in recent years, such as the Winter Olympics and the Women's World Cup of soccer.
"It's another opportunity to build our global profile, attract more tourism. That's just a win-win for us," he said.
Michelle Collens, the city's manager of sports hosting, said of the approximately 60,000 tickets that have been sold, at least 6,500 have been to people outside B.C. – approximately 4,000 in other parts of Canada and another 2,500 internationally.
"The hotels are going to be packed, the restaurants are going to be packed, the city's just going to come to life," she said.
Finding an economic projection for the event, however, proved a challenge Wednesday.
Bill Cooper, chief executive officer of Canada Sevens, said a figure has not been put together.
Anecdotally, he said trying to find hotel rooms for rugby officials in the past couple of weeks has been a challenge.
"This is not normally a high-volume weekend. So that's a good sign," he said.
Steve Thomson, B.C.'s Minister of Forests and a former member of the Canadian national rugby team, said the province has contributed $245,000 to the event – $170,000 in broadcast production costs and $75,000 in hosting support.
"We recognize what this means to British Columbia, a chance to showcase our province, showcase Vancouver to the world, and this is just a great opportunity because it helps build tourism, creates jobs. There will be spinoff legacies from all of this," Mr. Thomson told the news conference.
Both the mayor and the minister took time Wednesday to discuss their personal connection to the sport.
Mr. Robertson said he took up rugby at Carson Graham Secondary School and went on to play a season in a New Zealand professional league "before my body called it quits."
Mr. Robertson said his on-field nickname that season was "Canada."
Mr. Thomson said his rugby nickname was "the Blue Ox." He did not explain why.
Canada's first game is against Wales on Saturday, just after noon.
Vancouver is the sixth stop in a 10-country tour. The Sevens Series, like skiing, awards its championship on total points accumulated over the season. The season concludes in late May in London.
With approximately 60,000 tickets sold, the Vancouver tournament has surpassed the expectations of its organizers. An additional 5,000 seats in BC Place Stadium were made available last week.
Played over two days, featuring the world's top teams, the tournament runs at a frantic pace, with 45 games of 14 minutes each until the final, which lasts 20 minutes.
With a report from Mark Hume