In Montreal, a Big Sports Year Continues Throughout Fall

The past 12 months in Montreal have seen the Presidents Cup, the 4 Nations Face-Off, Formula 1, WTA and, this weekend, the return of the Jackalope action sports festival to Old Town Montreal before the UCI World Tour’s Montreal Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

It leads Mylène Gagnon, vice president of business sales and sporting events for Tourisme Montreal, to use one word to encompass the time period: “Can we say extraordinaire?”

“The perception of Montreal is really an international city,” Gagnon said. “Montreal has always been open to the world as an international destination for business, but also for sports for sure.”

With its roots firmly established at the Olympic Park over the past 10 years, Jackalope returns to Montreal September 12–14 with its mix of action sports and fan activations.

“They do an amazing job to develop sport, develop the event,” Gagnon said of the Montreal-based company started by Micah Desforges. “Having them in the old Montreal as they were last year, and they’re going to be again this year, it creates a vibe during a weekend of September where you as a tourist have something like this to attend. Micah’s doing a very good job, we want to make sure that we help him to grow and we support him to continue to expand.”

As Jackalope celebrates the growth of its event that started in the destination, another event this year that started in Montreal was the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off. The success of that event was welcomed by all in the home of the legendary Canadiens.

“We were not expecting that tournament being that great,” Gagnon said. “Nobody was really aware about what exactly should be at that tournament. The NHL, they were really amazed about what we produced and it was the best week of the winter for sure. We said to them, ‘Come back anytime, we’ll be more than happy to host you.’ Being the host of a big event like this was just amazing.”

Through her time with the Montreal hotel industry and Tourisme Montreal, Gagnon has seen many events grow and develop. In addition to the growth of Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix over the past 25 years, the visitor demographic to Montreal has changed as well. This year’s race weekend drew 350,000 people ahead of next year’s move on the schedule to U.S. Memorial Day Weekend.

“It’s not just men of 40, 50 years old, it’s families and it’s women who’s there,” she said. “Montreal, it’s just on fire when F1 is in town. Every restaurant, hotels, they all put out  F1 decorations. You can feel the vibe of every corner of the city. There is a new generation who come for this event now. They’re going to grow with the event. They have money to spend. So it’s good for everyone.”

The Canadian Grand Prix has signed an extension with F1 through at least 2035, making it one of Montreal’s longest-running sports events and one of the legacies of the city as a sports destination. Another legacy will be celebrated next year with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. The former home of the beloved Montreal Expos and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, Olympic Stadium is projected to have another renovation completed next year as one component of a broader revitalization plan for the surrounding Olympic Park. Anniversary celebrations are expected to last for several weeks with sporting and cultural events.

“People are proud,” said Gagnon of the city’s Olympic legacy. “If we don’t have the Olympic Games in 50 years ago, we wouldn’t have the Olympic pool. We wouldn’t have the Olympic rings we still keep in really good shape. And then we can host great championships or competitions, which is precious for Montreal. And this comes from the legacy of the Olympic Games 50 years ago for sure.”