Stampede parties less 'grandiose' due to economic downturn

The downturn in the oil and gas sector is having an impact on the Calgary Stampede as many companies scale back their traditionally lavish parties.

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For entertainment booking agent Pat McGannon, the Stampede is usually when he's at his busiest.

He says this year he has been getting a lot of last minute bookings but on a much smaller scale.

"So the big events that would have, you know,a lot of entertainment, a large food and beverage component, a lot of employee engagement, those for us have gone away completely," he said.

Calgary Stampede spokeswoman Jennifer Booth says they are seeing a bit of a dip as well.

"Yeah we're definitely not immune from the economic situation that we're in right now. We have seen a little bit of a our corporate sales be down a little bit.About 10 per cent," she said.

"However, with the dollar being the way it is, people like to spend their money within Calgary and Alberta and they like to do staycations.So that's advantageous for us, as well as Canada is somewhat on sale for the international guests so we're welcoming them with open arms."

Booth says ticket sales for the rodeo and the grandstand show are up as much as three per cent compared to last year.

Tourism Calgary CEO Cindy Ady says she's noticing a party mood in the city even if the business community is scaling back on Stampede events this year.

"So some of the parties aren't as big, aren't as grandiose, aren't as many. But definitely there still are events going on across the city," she said.

"There will be a lot of activity and the normal Calgarian will not be able to see the difference."