Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Wednesday, May 09, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - More than 1,000 soccer players descended on the city last weekend, opening their wallets between games at restaurants, shops, and hotels.

"It was one of the busiest weekends of the year," said Al Nielsen, owner of McDonald's on Old Airport Road.

As in past years, he brought in extra inventory for Super Soccer weekend and McHappy Day, happening today. A trailer of frozen food has been sitting in the McDonald's parking lot.

"It was outstanding," Nilesen said. "The staff here were outstanding. They did the best they could with customers coming in all at once in between the games."

Visitors to town also took time to check out Spider-Man 3. As it was the opening weekend for the movie, manager of the Capitol Theatre, Chris Hauff, expected the theatre to be full. Both screenings sold out on the weekend.

"I did notice there were a lot of teams that came in," Hauff said. He saw one group of 30 to 40 soccer players.

For Bata-Athlete's World in the Centre Square Mall, Super Soccer weekend ranks among Raven Mad Daze and Christmas in terms of the volume of business.

"We sold a lot of soccer shoes, sold a lot of footwear, sold a lot of clothing," said manager Marnna Traill. It was the first year the store had a good selection of soccer shoes in, and it paid off.

Hotels also got a boost from the annual soccer tournament, with many having no vacancies during the three-day event.

"We were completely full," said Amy Gauvin, guest services manager at Chateau Nova.

Gauvin compared the number of guests to peak hunting season in the fall.

"We didn't need any extra staff, but we prepared for it," she said. Management ensured that there were always two people at the front desk.

"We took extra precautions to make sure everything was OK for it," Gauvin said.

Laundry staff at the hotel was given a break over the weekend, as the kids were asked to bring their own towels.

Apparently in the past, players had died their hair, staining hotel towels.