Charles St GRT terminal redevelopment

[tomh009]

I challenge your comment "some boring local hockey team". I gather hockey is not your thing. I would assert that the Kitchener Rangers are one of the most beloved organizations in the Region.
Name me any other local institution/event that regularly 2 or 3 times a week draws 6,000 or more people together for a shared community experience and has done so for DECADES.

I do think this is specific to certain groups. For example, nobody I know has ever been to a game, and likely would have to be reminded the rangers exist. Yes, they do have a dedicated following but that doesn’t represent the whole city. I’d even go so far as to say that the group which most finds the rangers to be important culturally is the establishment that has traditionally run the city.

As for similarly large/important cultural institutions, Octoberfest is an easy example, Elmira maple syrup festival. The rangers are not the only cultural institution.

A fair point. I do know multiple people that go to Rangers games regularly, but clearly it's not a majority of the population or anything close to that. Still, a larger demographic than, say, symphony fans, rock climbers or theatregoers.

Arguably the biggest "cultural event" in the region is the blues festival, depending on how one assesses the objectives of Oktoberfest visitors.