BECOMING A WORLD-CLASS CITY - HALLMARK EVENTS AND SPORT FRANCHISES INTHE GROWTH STRATEGIES OF WESTERN CANADIAN CITIES

This paper examines the role that the pursuit of hallmark events and o f major league sports franchises has played in the growth strategies o f western Canadian cities. Literature on civic boosterism illustrates the vigorous competition that developed among regional elites to estab lish their own cities as perceived growth centers. These competitions are sharpened today by the contemporary mobility of capital, by medial information networks that focus unprecedented attention on ''world-cl ass'' events, and by the growth of event-related tourism. The predicti ons of the benefits from investment in sports and tourism are typicall y optimistic, and gloss over significant differences of interest betwe en local elites and others who are less likely to benefit.