The World Aquatics Diving World Cup held in Windsor last year made a big splash in terms of the economic impact for the city.
According to Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island, the event generated a $1.5 million economic impact.
TWEPI Vice President of Marketing Jason Toner says what’s great about events like that is people are coming for multiple nights.
“An average day tripper is spending somewhere around $100 to $125 a day, while for an overnight stay, it’s $250 to $350 per guest. So, it’s incremental spending beyond that,” he says.
The four-day event held in April 2025 at the Windsor International Aquatics and Training Centre sold out weeks in advance.
At the time, officials said 73 per cent of the tickets were purchased by people outside of Windsor-Essex from places like the Greater Toronto Area and the U.S. in places like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Las Vegas, along with China, Japan, and Australia.
Toner says because of the calibre of the athletes from around the world, there were also family and fans coming here to watch the competition.
“There’s a lot of follow-ups that’s not part of that $1.5 million value when you look at broadcast rights with CBC and Sportsnet and where it goes on from there,” he says. “There’s so much more PR value for Windsor as a sports destination or leisure destination just beyond that one weekend. That’s the reason we want to invest in those large-scale sporting events.”
Toner says the Windsor International Aquatics and Training Centre is one of the elites, especially for diving.
“Not a lot of places have the space that can fit them with the diving platforms. But also, the hotel infrastructure is so close. People can just walk between the venue and the hotels, which are one block away. We’re definitely on Diving Canada’s radar and future conversations about future events, which is great,” he says.
The international diving competition featured 119 elite athletes from 24 countries, including many Olympians who competed at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.