Hamilton economy expected to get $11M boost from the Juno Awards

Hamilton will see as much as $11 million in economic spinoff, including hotel rooms and restaurant visits, when it hosts the Juno Awards next year.

That was the estimate Friday during the kickoff of the new brand, Turn It On, designed to hype the ceremony in March.

Hotel rooms will be full, said Susan Monarch, manager of Tourism Hamilton. Restaurants will be crowded.

Just think of all the bed and breakfasts and restaurants and venues that will hold pop-up events, she said. It goes way beyond just the hotels and FirstOntario Centre.

The Turn It On campaign is designed to get the city on board with the March 15 ceremony, held in Hamilton for the first time in 14 years. Organizers are encouraging people to use the hash tag #TurnItOn.

Hamilton Juno winners Tom Wilson, Max Kerman off the Arkells and Rita Chiarelli kicked off the Turn It On effort at the tourism visitors centre on James Street North, now branded Juno House. The trio signed a piano that CARAS will donate to MusiCares, a charity that benefits school music programs.

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) chose Hamilton as the host city in January after council voted in May 2013 to bid on the awards.

Hamilton is contributing $250,000 to the awards.

Tourism staff will be stretched next year, Monarch said. Hamilton is also hosting the soccer games for the 2015 Pan Am Games in July.

"We know were going to be going from this and taking one step into Pan Am," she said. "This will turn from Juno House into soccer central."

Juno House at the Tourism Hamilton office is filled with Juno memorabilia. Organizers also plan a Juno Fest a week before the ceremony.