Canalta Centre looking to up ticket sales with big events on horizon

“We had about 1,100 seats per show that we could have sold, so we could have gotten up to about 5,500,” said Sweeney. “I really expected us to hit that.”

It hasn’t been the easiest spring for the events centre, as they are coming up on their four year anniversary of operation in September.

After over 5,500 fans attended the final game of the regular season, the Medicine Hat Tigers failed to break the 2,900 fan mark in each of their three playoff games last month against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

According to Medicine Hat College business instructor Tara Williams, it’s part of a trend across Alberta where consumers are more selective where they spend money for events.

“Those experiences are really important and people are really excited to have experiences,” said Williams. “But with a tight economy, there’s only so many experiences that they can actually take on.”

The Canalta Centre has tried to diversify their programming because of that, expanding to shows such as children’s entertainment, professional bull riding, and monster truck rallies.

Sweeney said they are looking to cast as wide of a net as possible to attract new viewers to their shows and events.

“We’re taking some risks and bringing some shows to town that haven’t been here before, like PJ Masks that was here,” she said. “It didn’t sell well, but we’re confident that we got some information about how kids shows will do, and what kids shows will work and won’t work.”

Financially, the Canalta Centre continues to run with a subsidy from the City of Medicine Hat, similar to the Medicine Hat Arena and the Esplanade.

According to Sweeney, it’s not likely the Canalta Centre will run a break even budget for several more years, but added buildings the size of the Canalta Centre will usually operate with municipal funding.

With the province still recovering from the economic downturn, Sweeney added it’s still tough to separate consumers from their disposable income.

“We’re competing with other events all over the place, we’re competing for dollars, we’re competing for time,” she said. “So, we’re not alone in our challenge and in our struggle.”

That pinch could be improving in the coming months, but Williams said heading into the summer many people are still weary about spending big money on events.

“The estimate is that the Alberta economy will be up 2.5 percent in 2019, but we aren’t seeing that yet,” she said. “And so, you can’t spend money that isn’t there.”

Despite some of the recent struggles, there are signs this year could be better in attendance numbers than last for the Canalta Centre.

Pre-sales for November’s U-17 World Hockey Challenge are holding steady with 122 ticket packages sold as recently as last week, while Sweeney said she expects just under 4,000 tickets to be sold for next week’s Volbeat and Godsmack show.

“Year end, we should be over in terms of the number of events and we should be over in terms of the number of people in the building than we were last year if people support,” said Sweeney.

Other big events on the schedule before the end of the year include concerts by Travis Tritt and Blue Rodeo, Wingapalooza, and Rock the Rink figure skating.

Last year, the Canalta Centre reported a $2.5 million surge to the local economy due to Cirque du Soleil’s seven-show run of Crystal.

Sweeney said these events are positive for the community, but added they need community support to keep them coming to Medicine Hat.

“This is a community building and when it does well, the community will do well,” she said.

As for Canalta Centre operator SMG Canada, they will be entering the final year of their five-year agreement with the City of Medicine Hat in 2020.

by Scott Roblin

Canalta Centre looking to up ticket sales with big events on horizon

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