Editing Calgary Stampede (section)

==Relationship with the city==
[[File:Stampede Midway 2011.png|thumb|The midway with downtown and the [[Calgary Tower]] in the background|alt=Crowds of people wander around booths selling carnival food. A merry-go-round is in the foreground to the left, and several skyscrapers stand in the background.]]
The Stampede has become inexorably linked to the city's identity. Calgary has long been called the "Stampede City",<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RC9kAAAAIBAJ&pg=7044,730836 |title=Calgary now is recognized as 'Stampede city' |work=Calgary Herald |date=1953-07-04 |access-date=2011-04-16 |page=19 |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020231100/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RC9kAAAAIBAJ&pg=7044%2C730836 |url-status=live }}</ref> and carries the informal nickname of "Cowtown".<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=166}}</ref> The event's iconic status offers Calgary global publicity and plays a significant role in defining the city's image.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=148}}</ref> Calgary's [[Canadian Football League]] team has been called the [[Calgary Stampeders|Stampeders]] since 1945, and it is a name shared by other teams in various sports throughout the city's history, including the [[Calgary Stampeders (ice hockey)|Stampeders hockey team]] that operated in the years following World War II.<ref name="Gray142" />

The Stampede has strong polling support within the province. A 2006 [[Ipsos-Reid]] poll found that 86 percent of Albertans felt that it raised the civic quality of life and considered it one of the region's most important cultural events. Nearly three in four stated they look forward to the annual event.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=3121 |title=Calgary Stampede Still The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth For Albertans |publisher=Ipsos-Reid |date=2006-06-23 |access-date=2011-06-04 |archive-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911065349/http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=3121 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, critics argue that it is not a reflection of Alberta's frontier history, but represents a mythical impression of western cowboy culture created by 19th-century wild west shows.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=22}}</ref>

Part of the event's success can be attributed to the close relationship the Stampede has often shared with both the civic government and community leaders. Mayors of Calgary and city aldermen have sat on the Stampede Board of Governors at the same time they occupied public office, and the Stampede's ability to convince wealthy and influential citizens to volunteer their time has allowed the organization to gain a high-profile within the city.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=151}}</ref> The Stampede operates on city-owned land, pays no property tax on its lease, and typically faces little to no political interference from City Hall.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=150}}</ref> It operates as a non-profit entity with all income reinvested into the park. All improvements to the park would revert to city control if the lease were allowed to expire.<ref name="Reasons109">{{harvnb|Reasons|1984|p=109}}</ref>

Likewise, the Stampede has support from the media,<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=153}}</ref> which has been accused of providing an inordinate amount of positive coverage to the event while trivializing negative aspects.<ref>{{harvnb|Reasons|1984|p=97}}</ref> The local media faced national scrutiny in 2009 when both major newspapers refused to run anti-rodeo ads sponsored by the Vancouver Humane Society.<ref name="DividedHumane" /> While the ''[[Calgary Herald]]'' simply refused to run the ad, the ''[[Calgary Sun]]'' defended its position in an editorial. The ''Sun'' refuted charges it was kowtowing to the Stampede and justified its refusal by claiming "we are Calgarians and allowing a group of outsiders to come in and insult a proud Calgary tradition seemed just plain wrong."<ref>{{citation |last=Norrie |first=Gordon |url=http://www.calgarysun.com/comment/editorial/2009/06/30/9977571-sun.html |title=No sacred cows in our line of work |work=Calgary Sun |date=2009-06-30 |access-date=2011-04-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601171604/http://www.calgarysun.com/comment/editorial/2009/06/30/9977571-sun.html |archive-date=2012-06-01 }}</ref> The ''Herald'' reversed its decision a year later, running a full-page ad sponsored by the Vancouver Humane Society.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/anti-rodeo-ad-runs-in-calgary-paper-1.937884 |title=Anti-rodeo ad runs in Calgary paper |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=2010-07-05 |access-date=2011-04-16 |archive-date=2012-11-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109185052/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2010/07/05/calgary-calf-roping-ad-herald-humane-society-vancouver.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Economic impact and tourism===
[[File:Sale Pelletier ice show.png|thumb|right|[[Jamie Salé]] and [[David Pelletier]] perform at the 2011 ice show in the [[Stampede Corral]]|alt=A male and female figure skater spin around each other on the ice while a band plays in the background.]]
While 70 percent of Stampede attendees are from the Calgary region,<ref>{{citation |last=Guttormson |first=Kim |title=Fuel price hikes hurt prospects for Calgary tourism rebound |work=Edmonton Journal |date=2011-05-12}}</ref> officials work to promote the event across the globe.<ref>{{citation |last=Varcoe |first=Chris |url=http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5fa24d00-8981-4c0e-ba4a-572bcc835ace&p=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119032304/http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5fa24d00-8981-4c0e-ba4a-572bcc835ace&p=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-19 |title=Calgary looks for niche to tempt tourists from China |work=Calgary Herald |date=2011-05-26 |access-date=2011-06-04 }}</ref> As such, the Calgary Stampede is known around the world.<ref>{{citation |last1=Hough |first1=Andrew |last2=Rayner |first2=Gordon |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8546311/Royal-tour-Duke-and-Duchess-of-Cambridges-14000-mile-first-official-trip.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110601232555/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8546311/Royal-tour-Duke-and-Duchess-of-Cambridges-14000-mile-first-official-trip.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-06-01 |title=Royal tour: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's 14,000-mile first official trip |work=The Telegraph |date=2011-05-30 |access-date=2011-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Al |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-05/22/c_13887973.htm |title=Canadian rodeo a rural experience for urban dwellers |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=2011-05-22 |access-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107212210/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/indepth/2011-05/22/c_13887973.htm |archive-date=2012-11-07 }}</ref> The Stampede draws foreign visitors primarily from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and is experiencing growing attendance by tourists from Asia and South America.<ref>{{citation |last=Gandia |first=Renato |url=http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/07/11/stampede-gets-foreign-tourism-boost |title=Stampede gets foreign tourism boost |work=Calgary Sun |date=2011-07-11 |access-date=2011-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601172242/http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/07/11/stampede-gets-foreign-tourism-boost |archive-date=2012-06-01 }}</ref>

A 2019 Conference Board of Canada Report found the annual economic impact of the Calgary Stampede's year-round activities generated $540.8 million across the province of Alberta. The 10-day event accounted for $282.5 million of that amount. In Calgary alone, the year-round activities of the Stampede accounted for $449.8 million. Of that, 227.4 million was generated by the 10-day Stampede.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Economic impact of Calgary Stampede expected to surge amid BMO Centre expansion|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6242709/calgary-economy-stampede-bmo-centre-expansion/|access-date=2020-12-08|website=Global News|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119081740/https://globalnews.ca/news/6242709/calgary-economy-stampede-bmo-centre-expansion/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stampede officials estimated in 2009 that the city of Calgary had a gross economic impact of $172.4 million from the ten-day event alone, with a wider provincial total of $226.7 million.<ref name="CSTourism">{{citation |url=http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/stampede/archive/2009/07/04/stampede-an-event-of-numbers.aspx |title=Stampede an event of numbers |work=Calgary Herald |date=2009-07-04 |access-date=2011-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711150854/http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/stampede/archive/2009/07/04/stampede-an-event-of-numbers.aspx |archive-date=2011-07-11 }}</ref> In terms of economic impact, the Stampede is the highest grossing festival in Canada, ahead of Ottawa's [[Winterlude]], the [[Canadian National Exhibition]] in Toronto, and the [[Just for Laughs]] festival in Montreal.<ref>{{citation |last=Backland |first=Jason |url=http://money.ca.msn.com/savings-debt/gallery/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=24740236 |title=Biggest festivals in Canada |publisher=MSN Canada |date=2010-07-04 |access-date=2011-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009153527/http://money.ca.msn.com/savings-debt/gallery/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=24740236 |archive-date=2011-10-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Additionally, Stampede officials estimate that for every dollar spent at Stampede Park, tourists spend $2.65 in the rest of the city.<ref name="CSTourism" /> A poll conducted in 2011 found that 40 percent of Calgarians who intended to attend the Stampede expected to spend $150–$400 over the course of the event, and 7 percent stated that they would spend more than that.<ref>{{citation |last=Toneguzzi |first=Mario |title=Calgarians big Stampede spenders |work=Calgary Herald |date=2011-07-08 |page=D3}}</ref>

===Promoting Calgary===
Civic leaders have consistently noted the Stampede's impact on the city. Mayor [[Andrew Davison]] claimed in 1944 that the event "had done more to advertise Calgary than any single agency", an opinion that has been echoed by his successors.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=152}}</ref> Stampede officials have made similar claims, arguing that the event is one of Canada's most important tourist attractions.<ref>{{harvnb|Foran|2008|p=328}}</ref> The Canadian Tourism Commission placed the event in its Signature Experiences Collection, one of six such events or locations in Alberta.<ref>{{citation |last=Guttormson |first=Kim |title=Calgary Stampede branded in tourism series |work=Calgary Herald |date=2011-07-12 |page=D1}}</ref>

According to [[Ralph Klein]], former mayor of Calgary and premier of Alberta, the Stampede symbolizes the province's spirit. He cited the friendly and welcoming attitude and festival spirit of the city's populace during the event, which community booster groups export around the world.<ref>{{citation |last=Klein |first=Ralph |title=The Stampede adds colour to our towering offices |work=Calgary Herald |date=2005-06-12 |page=A16}}</ref> Among examples cited was the infamous [[36th Grey Cup|1948 Grey Cup]] game in which two trains of Stampeder football fans descended on Toronto and launched an unprecedented series of celebrations before, during and after the game that included riding a horse into the lobby of the [[Fairmont Royal York|Royal York Hotel]].<ref>{{citation|last=Christie |first=Alan |url=http://greycup.cfl.ca/article/the-story-of-the-1948-grey-cup_43629 |title=The story of the 1948 grey Cup |publisher=Canadian Football League |date=2008-10-26 |access-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005064722/http://greycup.cfl.ca/article/the-story-of-the-1948-grey-cup_43629 |archive-date=2011-10-05 }}</ref> The events helped turn the Grey Cup into a national festival and the largest single-day sporting event in the country.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.albertasportshalloffame.com/component/zoo/item/1948-calgary-stampeders-football |title=1948 Calgary Stampeders, football team |publisher=Alberta Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929110438/http://www.albertasportshalloffame.com/component/zoo/item/1948-calgary-stampeders-football |archive-date=September 29, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Toth |first=Dan |url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Calgary/2005/05/18/pf-1045006.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714021258/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Calgary/2005/05/18/pf-1045006.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=14 July 2012 |title=History for sale |work=Calgary Sun |date=2005-05-18 |access-date=2011-07-23}}</ref>