Kamloops bars, sporting goods stores bolstered by Canada’s FIFA World Cup run

“This is the time of year where its a bit of a lull as its still early in the baseball season but FIFA has been just…it’s made me a soccer fan,” Al Deacon, the owner of the Fox’n Hounds Pub added. “It’s been fantastic energy and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.”

Both establishments – like many others in Kamloops – will be open at 10:00 a.m. for Canada’s first-ever Round of 16 game. At the Fox’n Hounds, opening time will come an hour earlier than usual, but Deacon says its worth it.

“We have to take advantage of good things that happen around us and Canada in the Round of 16 is a huge thing,” Deacon said. “Us, like most people in this business, are going to open early and hopefully it’ll draw a good crowd and [we] cheer the reds onto victory.”

It’s not just the bars and restaurants benefiting, as fans are still hoping to grab the latest jerseys to show their support for their favourite teams. Good luck though, as Team Canada jerseys have been hard to find for weeks.

“We sold 36 Canada jerseys but we had to pre-order so far in advance but we easily could have sold another 75 to 100 jerseys of the red ones, because they say wear red at the games,” Andrew Hansen, co-owner of Hansport told CFJC Today.

“It’s a lot of people that aren’t normally into soccer that are buying them. I’m still getting phone calls and we’ve been sold out of them for a few weeks.”

City organized watch parties at Riverside Park have also been a popular addition this World Cup, especially when Canada takes the field. The city decided to stage all 104 World Cup games, instead of just one-off games here and there allowing people to plan ahead.

“It sets up a regular event so people can see its worth it to go and purchase a jersey or make plans to watch the games at Riverside Park and then go have lunch or dinner at another business in town,” Andrew Smeaton, the City of Kamloops’ business operations and events supervisor, said.

“There’s lots of businesses on the North Shore, in east Kamloops and downtown that are taking part in the excitement around the greatest tournament on earth.”

There are still two weeks to go before the World Cup Final on July 19. While Canada is unlikely to be playing in that marquee game, there is a hope that people will still keep flocking to bars and restaurants so tables are full, kitchens are busy and taps keep flowing.

“The Blue Jays run last year was probably my personal favourite, that was a really fun sporting event,” Cross added. “It was electric in here and yeah [it’s the same] with the World Cup. Some of the big games are on big days for us, but you notice it because people are cheering when things happen.”

“As those big power houses – Spain, France, Argentina – get into big important games, I think we’ll think we’ll see some crowds come out for it, but yeah, the crowds definitely been favoured towards Canada so far.”

“Kamloops has such a diverse population and almost everybody has a team in the World Cup, so whether you’re Canadian or not, we’re going to be busy,” added Deacon. “People are going to come out and cheer on their teams.”

Hansen also hopes the excitement created by the World Cup leads to more people taking up the sport.

“Having games in Vancouver has helped drive up interest,” Hansen said. “That’s what’s done it as everyone wants to be a part of it. I would hope more kids are interested in trying to emulate their favourite players.”

“Boots, shinpads, socks, shorts – that’s all you’d need. It’s a nice, cheap sport to play.”

by Victor Kaisar

Kamloops bars, sporting goods stores bolstered by Canada’s FIFA World Cup run

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