One of the most anticipated events of the year might be over but Ottawa 2017 says the future looks bright for Red Bull Crashed Ice in the capital.
Guy LaFlamme has been working to bring Crashed Ice to the Ottawa Locks for more than two years. He says that after a successful trial run, the potential of adding Ottawa to the crashed ice tour every three years is promising.
"Pending the success of this year's addition that they, Red Bull, would look at the possibility of adding Ottawa as part of a number of Canadian cities where they would tour over the years," he says.
"All key stakeholders were very happy so it seems quite promising for the future."
Despite the frigid temperatures, LaFlamme says viewing areas at Major's Hill Park, York Street and on Wellington Street were at capacity throughout the night. Red Bull would not discuss numbers, but Ottawa Police say that at any given time about 15,000 people packed into the area around the Ottawa Locks to watch the sporting event.
On Monday, Ottawa 2017 clarified that further to say nearly 50,000 people attended the finals on Saturday evening. All viewing areas hit capacity Saturday, including the locks with a capacity of roughly 20,000 people, the Wellington overflow area at 12,100, Major's Hill Park at 10,000 and the York Street Activation Site at 5,600.
"RCMP geospatial measuring pegs the crowd at 28,000 in one snapshot from Saturday evening (8pm) for the bowl and Wellington area. That does not account for the very large flow-through crowd due to the cold, which would put overall attendance much higher, as attendance turned over approximately 2 times, a significant increase over the 28,000 number that was shared," wrote Denise LeBlanc with Ottawa 2017 in a media release issued Monday.
Those who weren't able to make the World Crashed Ice finals on Saturday or couldn't find a good vantage point because of the crowds came to the venue Sunday to check it out.
"We couldn't see the course at all last night so today we figured we'd be able to see it because there wouldn't be any people here," says Carol Moran.
"We know this area quite well and to see them be able to transform this path here (The Ottawa Locks) and also the fact that its an international event is quite impressive for Ottawa," says Ottawa resident Cecile Bisson.
With the event over and the winners crowned, the attention now turns to dismantling the death-defying course. It will take crews about two days to melt the ice and an estimated two weeks to completely tear down the track. Roughly one hundred crews will be working over the next couple days to return the area to its status quo.
LaFlamme says approximately 85 per cent of the wood used to build the structure will be re-used, some to built homes here in Ottawa for Habitat for Humanity. He also says the locks are in perfect condition and have not been impacted by the build.
