Want to find out when the National Hockey League will be hit by the next round of labour troubles?

Just call Drew or Blair Wilson.

"If you want to know when the next labour dispute is, we'll probably be opening a restaurant," jokes Drew, co-owner of Wilson's Steak House in downtown Vancouver.

The Wilson brothers opened their steakhouse shortly before the NHL lockout began last year. They also opened Mahoney's sports bar in 1994 - a year when the NHL season was shortened because of another dispute between players and owners.

Bayne Stanley, Business Edge
Wilson's Steak House co-owners Drew, left, and Blair Wilson expect crowds will soar as the Canucks open their doors.

The Wilsons are two of many business operators in the Lower Mainland who are hoping the Canucks' return to the ice will convince fans to return to their premises on game nights and other times during the upcoming season. Many businesses, including hotels and restaurants, suffered large revenue losses when the 2004-05 season was cancelled.

"I feel fabulous that hockey is on," says Drew.

Wilson's is located near both GM Place, home of the Canucks, and BC Place, home of the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. Drew suggests the lockout obviously hurt Wilson's financially, but he doesn't want to dwell on the negative.

"We chose the location for many reasons, not just the hockey," he adds. "It's a growing area."

But it's also one that is very dependent on events, says Bob Marando, general manager of the Georgian Court Hotel located on Beatty Street near GM Place and right across the street from BC Place. Many businesses started up in the former warehouse district after the Canucks and Lions moved downtown from the Pacific National Exhibition grounds.

"The further you go from GM Place, the less the impact is from hockey," says Marando. "But for us, we're kitty-corner to GM Place or, as we like to say, 'a slapshot away.' " The cancellation of Canuck games - repeat events, in other words - spelled a substantial financial loss for area businesses, Marando says. A hotel such as the Westin Bayshore on the inner harbour would not feel the same effect, he adds, because customer traffic will remain high despite a lack of events such as hockey or football games or concerts.

"The food and beverage loss alone was $300,000 for our hotel," says Marando of the recent NHL dispute.

He estimates the loss on room bookings at $100,000, but says it could have been higher because business travellers may also stay an extra night to attend hockey games without being identified as fans.

Richard Floody, chairman of the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), says while the lockout affected sports bars and restaurants located close to GM Place, other bars and restaurants actually benefited from the labour dispute.

"(Establishments near GM Place) were certainly hurting, but on the flipside, we had a lot of people that had a lot of disposable income and they didn't have to spend $200 a night (to attend a hockey game)," says Floody.

Bob Marando

Floody says BCRFA members aren't concerned that negative fan reaction to the lockout will hamper his members' sales. He says it's more important that the Canucks, who have felt the financial effects associated with smaller markets, stay in Vancouver because the club is good for the city, tourism and business.

"(The NHL) will be back and healthy," he predicts.

"I would be a little worried if we were in the (United) States," he adds, referring to the lockout's potential impact on cities that do not have a long tradition with the sport. "But hockey is our national game."

Either way, Floody expects that the Canucks will eventually return to the good financial times they enjoyed before the lockout, when they experienced a large surge in attendance and were considered title contenders before they were unceremoniously ousted in seven games by the Calgary Flames.

"Everybody wants (the Canucks) to do well," says Floody. "What's done is done. (The lockout) shouldn't have happened, but we have to get on."

Bar and restaurant operators aren't the only ones looking forward to more fans coming through their doors.

Sales of jerseys and hockey equipment are expected to increase at the Sport Chek store in Pacific Centre.

"We're expecting a 10-per-cent increase at the start (of the season)," says Naoki Yanaguchi, the store's operations manager.

He says fans have already started coming back after sales declined 50 per cent during the lockout.

"It was pretty slow in hockey sales - and jerseys as well," says Yanaguchi.

He suggests fans' attitudes are shifting. "A lot of good things are happening (with the NHL), so there's a lot of excitement in the air," he says.

Businesses in other parts of B.C. are also anticipating large revenue increases as the NHL resumes play.

Victoria-based ticket agency Be a Fan Entertainment Inc. has already blocked off Georgian Court rooms surrounding Canuck dates, but the overall increase won't be seen for a while because most fans book on a short-term basis.

Be A Fan Entertainment owner Shawn Frasch says his company, which offers packages that include tickets, travel and hotels, suffered a 50-per-cent decline in revenue during the lockout. But it has already seen a big boost in bookings for Canucks' games, and he's expecting ample bookings for once-a-season trips to Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers games.

"We're now booking more than we've probably booked (at the same time) in the last six or seven years, just because of the awareness," says Frasch.

He says the end of the lockout, along with national junior and Olympic team camps and unprecedented number of player signings and trades, has spurred interest like never before.

"I think (the NHL) will come back stronger than ever," says Frasch.

Recent training camps for Canada's world junior championship and Olympic teams, held in Vancouver and Kelowna, seem to indicate that fans will flock back to Canucks games. A joint junior and Olympic team practice at GM Place drew more than 14,000 fans, and an Olympic team practice at Kelowna's Prospera Place on a recent Friday - at 8 a.m. - was a sellout.

Pat Quinn, coach of Canada's Olympic team, isn't worried about any backlash from Canadian fans.

"Hockey plays a big part in the fabric of Canada, and it shows with the presence of (the fans) that were here" for the team's final workout in Kelowna last week, Quinn said following the session.

But he also said the lockout was for the good of the league.

"It was something that needed to happen because the business wasn't working properly and it needed to have a correction," said Quinn. "But to be out that long was not something that anybody liked or wanted. It was there - so we just move on now."

Wayne Gretzky, executive director of Canada's Olympic team and part-owner and coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, added the support from fans in Kelowna "shows how special our sport is in our country."

"Now we gotta go back and (we've) gotta work harder to give the game back to the people, and the players and the fans," said Gretzky. "This (training camp) was a nice start. It showed that people do love the sport and they love to come out and watch."

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)