Who Started The Paris Hilton Rumour

Finally, a story about sex and Hollywood gossip in this Blog.

Do you think that we will ever learn the true story behind the success, or not, of the Super Bowl weekend. You remember the $80 million that was supposed to come to Windsor, the 6-700 buses that were to cross the border, the visitors filling our hotels and restaurants, the extra massages and Cuban cigars sold.

Was it a good thing for Windsor to be called "Sin City?" The Mayor did not like it at first but then his attitude changed as the week wore on and as people started saying nice things about Windsor too (and Gord wrote his column saying it was OK). You know the old saying...it does not matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right!

Let me give you some facts. The car and truck crossing numbers for both the Bridge and Tunnel were ugly. I would assume that the operators and Customs put on additional staff and had extra booths open too to ensure everything went smoothly. If they did, they took a big hit in operating costs given the horrible figures.

Over the Super Bowl weekend, in some cases and on certain days, numbers were off from last year's figures by over 50%. Detroit to Windsor numbers were worse than the other way around. Both the Bridge and Tunnel had very similar drops in numbers. Sunday was the worst day of all for movement which should probably be expected. As far as buses were concerned, there was nowhere near the 6-700 number. I am sure that the crossing operators are glad to see the end of the Super Bowl.

Probably a lot of the people downtown were locals or those from southern Ontario. That wasn't so bad because a dollar spent is a dollar spent. "We did show Windsorites what our downtown is capable of all year round...Hotels did fill up although I heard not until just a day or two before."

A lot of business owners did well downtown. One fellow called the weekend like New Year's Eve. "We've never had two consecutive days that were that packed. Normally our new years eve is our busiest night but this was like 2 new years eve's back to back." Obviously, the taxi strike hurt (I do not recall seeing much in the non-Windsor media about it) so enterprising restauranteurs had to figure out ways to bring the cusotmers to them and back to their hotels. Several ran their own shuttle bus service I was told.

How do you measure all of the publicity we got in the media? It was quite extensive even if a lot of it dealt with our vices more than our virtues. I was disappointd that during the big game itself, there was not more mention of Windsor. I am trying to recall if "Canada" was mentioned more than once too.

I wonder if any of the Councillors will demand an audit of what the real costs to the City were, the amount paid by sponsors and any shortfalls. It looks like the policing costs alone will be around the $250,000 mark.

I wonder who received tickets to the events during the week. Politicians got some freebies I know (and which they deserve for taking all the crap we give them all the time) but did Administrators get something for nothing too? I gather that some but not all attended the super-secret VIP party at the Armouries as an example. And how many Super Bowl tickets did we get and who got them?

To put matters into a perspective and to bring us all back to reality, here is a story sent to me by a "friend" that Crains Detroit ran. Their results are a long way from $300 million for Detroit and we would be lot less than $80 million

• "Super Bowl impact pegged at $49.3M in new study
  
  By Amy Lane
  Jan. 31, 2006 4:35 PM
  
  A new report estimates that Super Bowl XL will have a $49.3 million economic impact on the Detroit area, well below estimates that have reached more than $300 million.
  
  The report, released Wednesday by Anderson Economic Group L.L.C. in East Lansing, estimates the event will have direct benefits of $30.8 million, including visitor spending, sponsorship revenue and a local share of ticket sales, including scalper profits. Spinoff indirect economic impact is projected to be $18.5 million.
  
  The consulting firm says its numbers are conservative and reflect only net new economic activity directly associated with hosting the Super Bowl that would not have otherwise have occurred in the area.
  
  For example, the economic-impact figures do not include spending by major Detroit area corporations to promote the event. Such spending likely would have occurred anyway but in a different direction, like other event promotions or charitable contributions, said Scott Watkins, a consultant at Anderson Economic Group.
  
  The report takes into consideration an estimated $2 million net cost to local and state governments to host the event. The report says that actual costs to governments may be much higher but will be offset by additional tax proceeds from the event.
  
  A 2004 study commissioned by the Super Bowl XL Host Committee estimated that hosting the game would be worth about $302 million to metro Detroit in total economic impact.
  
  The Anderson Economic Group study says that the economic impact of the Super Bowl “will likely exceed that of any other one-day event held in the area. Regardless of how much these visitors spend, or how long they stay, it’s a safe bet to assume that Detroit will benefit from hosting the event.
  
  “The degree to which the economy will benefit, however, is debatable.”
  
  The consulting firm also says that it recognizes “that hosting this event may have far greater impacts on Detroit” in the future, provided that the “positive economic momentum” started by the 2004 Ryder Cup and continuing through this year’s major sporting events and those in the future, spurs further Detroit area redevelopment."

As for Paris being here and where and what she ate...do you really think I am going to give out the true story and spoil the effect! But John Travolota was here...I heard that from a fellow whose friend knew the brother of a cousin of a paparazzi's uncle's son-in-law.