John Lechlitner had an interesting conversation with a pair of visitors from the U.S. on the weekend at Cecil’s Brewhouse & Kitchen.
The two men traveled more than 10 hours just to come to North Bay to watch the Ford World Women’s Curling Championships taking place this week.
“We had two guys in the restaurant on Saturday that had, on a whim, they went online and got tickets and a hotel room on Friday and drove up. They are from just south of Washington, D.C., and I got talking to them and they came up for the curling and they spent a weekend here,” recalled Lechlitner.
“North Bay was never on their radar - they are curling fans - until they saw curling was here.”
The pair told Lechlitner they like it so much they are going to come back here in the summer.
It’s the little things like that, that are indicators that events like this are priceless to the community.
“It is all those intangible things on how the community benefits, when the D.C. guys say they need to come back in the summertime, and they are avid fishermen too,” he said.
“So you see and hear that kind of stuff and to me, this is the kind of stuff that should make the organizers kind of over the top. Not only is the event going extremely well but it is the additional community benefit that North Bay gets.”
Lechlitner is also doing catering at the Granite Club which has turned into a banquet hall called “The Patch.”
“We are having an opportunity as well to showcase, using the Granite Club basically, for the off-season as an event facility in working with them,” he said.
“Let’s be honest it provides a lot of employment and a lot of business during this time. So it is a win all the way around.”
Lechlitner doesn’t think North Bay has hosted a sporting event of this magnitude since the 1980’s when the Ontario Winter Games came to North Bay.
“I am not saying that was on the same worldwide scale because here you have got continual TSN coverage and they are doing a phenomenal job of getting a flavour of the community in there as well,” he said.
“I would hate to say this is the biggest thing (if it is not) but it is certainly up there.”
