Edmonton rated 38th best sports city in the world

If you follow sports in Edmonton, the Oilers rein supreme over everyone else when it comes to attendance. But Edmonton continues to be a magnet for many major sporting events and other countries are taking notice.

Now, the northern most major city in North America is being recognized for a lot more than a sheet of ice.

According to a report by BCW-Global, Edmonton ranks 38th in the world for hosting sporting events and ranks second in the country, only behind Toronto.

“This is a market that loves sports no matter what it is. That’s why these events come here and do so well in my opinion,” said Avry Lewis-McDougall, a local sports reporter.

When you look at events in Edmonton this weekend and over the past year, you notice a trend. From the world beach volleyball pro series to snow boarding in Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton’s sports landscape continues to become more and more diverse.

“It isn’t just hockey events that come here, it isn’t just basketball or baseball. We’re a market that can have multiple sports coming here no matter what time of year. It isn’t just one sport that comes here and dominates the city all the time.”

City councillor Karen Principe is one of those who was advocating for the Men’s World Cup to come to Edmonton in 2026. But even after Edmonton successfully hosted the Woman’s World Cup in 2015, FIFA announced last May that the world’s biggest sporting event would be going to Vancouver and Toronto.

“We are ranked high but yea unfortunately we were overlooked for the world cup. There were some learnings that we made along the way and in the future I think we will see some more successful bids,” explained Principe.

But Edmonton is now looking to the future. Alberta is currently discussing bringing the 2030 Commonwealth Games to our province in a joint bid with Calgary, but there may be some hiccups in the process.

Earlier this week Australia made the decision to pull out of the 2026 edition of the games due to potential costs.

“You know that’s always a consideration the monetary amount that is contributed to events like that. It’s always something that needs to be considered. But it really has a really huge economic impact when you bring in events like that,” explained Principe.

Another event Principe would like to see is a soccer game featuring one of Edmonton’s own.

“I would love it if Alphonso Davies brought Bayern Munich by for a soccer match. That would be splendid I would love that.”