Attendance at Brier breaks record

Published in The Calgary Herald, Saskatoon Star Phoenix and National Post on March 15, 2009. CALGARY — The 2009 Tim Horton’s Brier was the best-attended curling event in the history of Calgary, surpassing previous highs set at Briers in 1997 and then 2002. As 12,929 curling fans took in the action for Sunday’s national men’s championship final between Alberta’s Kevin Martin and Jeff Stoughton of Manitoba, the total number of attendees over the 10 days jumped to 246,126. That bettered the previous mark set in 2002 when 245,296 fans turned out, and is now the third-best attended Brier on record. “It was a good event, a good week all around,” said Ian Henderson, chairman of the Calgary host committee. “And it’s been good for the sport of curling in Calgary. After 2002, we saw an uptick in participation in junior curling and recreational curling in the city. And this time...