Sports

Edmonton Reels in the Sports Enthusiast

Edmonton, Alberta – Welcome to sports central.

A city with a passion for sports, Edmonton offers the sports enthusiast a wide variety of entertaining options all year round.

With a star-studded selection of choices to choose from – everything from majestic opportunities to swing a five-iron, casting your favourite fishing rod or lacing up a pair of skates – you’ll find that your line-up card will quickly fill up in Edmonton.

Golfers can tee up at more than 70 courses – a majority of them at the 18-hole championship calibre level – in the Greater Edmonton region including Northern Bear, a Jack Nicklaus signature course. Play and stay, and you’ll see why golfers want to come back here for more: tree-lined courses, majestic river valley surroundings or challenges that only Mother Nature could put in a golfer’s path.

Indy race fans meanwhile, can get their engines revved up at one of the most fan-friendly circuits where 80 per cent of the track can be easily seen from anywhere in the stands. With speeds having exceeded 320 km/h (200 mph) it won’t just be the summer sun that heats up the speedway.

Or perhaps you’re angling for something a little bit different? Get Hooked Fishing Adventures offers a variety of fishing packages designed to meet the thrills and challenges of fishing the waters of the Edmonton area.

For the armchair quarterbacks in the vacation crowd, catch the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League at Commonwealth Stadium. The Eskimos, with a proud CFL heritage, have been a playoff contender for 34 consecutive years – from 1972 to 2005 – a record for a North American professional team.

Hockey fans, on the other hand, will find themselves in hockey heaven or Oil Country as it is known here. A trip to Rexall Place – home to the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers and the arena where hockey legend Wayne Gretzky led the Oilers to a string of Stanley Cup victories – is steeped in hockey magic. People eat, live and sleep hockey in Edmonton and you’ll see just how easy it can be to catch Oilers fever. Consider arranging your holiday to catch your favourite NHL team when they’re in town – it’s your ticket to shoot and score. Learn more about the Oiler fever through the stories of people who've experienved it at www.edmontonstories.ca.

Want more? No problem. Check out the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League as well as the Edmonton Cracker-Cats of the Golden Baseball League (professional independent baseball), and the Edmonton Oil Kings (junior hockey in the Western Hockey League) or head over to the Horses at Northlands Park where horse racing is front and centre.

Joggers, though, will likely want to take advantage of the city’s spectacular crown jewel, its River Valley. Twenty-two limes larger than New York’s Central Park, the River Valley includes 150 kilometres (just over 93 miles) of trails for walking, jogging, bike riding, picnicking, snowshoeing or even cross-country skiing.

And for those who like a little ice with their sports, Edmonton capitalizes on its winter reputation. Slip on a pair of skates and try out the NHL-sized rink at West Edmonton Mall’s Ice Palace, where ice time is also available for private rentals.

Skiers who’d like to carve out their own course, can catch an edge with world-class downhill skiing in nearby Jasper, via the Snow Train (it operates during winter months only) from Edmonton. The train’s domed Panorama rail car offers breathtaking 360-degree views of the Rockies, making the approaching slopes that much more enticing.

Or for a cross country experience of a lifetime, schedule a trip to coincide with the Canadian Birkebeiner Ski Festival, an annual event held east of the city where you’ll follow the historic legend of the original Birkebeiner (Viking skiers) from more than 800 years ago. It’s Canada's premier cross-country ski event and features a 55 km (34 mile) point-to-point course.

Sports Wizardry

Sports and Edmonton goes together, well, like soup goes with a sandwich. Here are a few examples of how closely the two are intertwined:

• Two former premiers of Alberta were members of the Canadian Football League’s
• Edmonton Eskimos: Peter Lougheed and Don Getty. Former Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith also played for the Eskimos.
• The first outdoor hockey game in National Hockey League history – the Heritage Classic – was played in Edmonton on Nov. 22, 2003, where the Edmonton Oilers took to the ice against the Montreal Canadiens as part of the celebrations of the Oilers' 25th NHL season.
• Figure skating stars Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi all have ties to the city’s Royal Glenora Club, which strives to provide an environment conducive to reaching personal and athletic excellence.

Edmonton Tourism
A Division of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation
For more information visit www.edmonton.com.