Persistence wins Chilliwack a coveted spot on Monopoly board

It was the sheer persistence of voters that earned Chilliwack a square on the Canadian edition of Monopoly.

"People are genuinely excited about this," Mayor Sharon Gaetz. "It may seem like a small deal to some, but it created some real community spirit."

Hasbro Canada announced the 22 winners this week from a group of 65 that had been pre-selected for the competition.

"When the voting started, we put it up on our Facebook profiles, and on the city website. People went and voted daily for this," she said.

Chilliwack beat out several major cities that were vying for the honour, and is one of only three B.C. communities to earn a square, alongside Kelowna and Vancouver.

The familiar local landmark of Mount Cheam will illustrate the square, and Chilliwack's spot on the board will be the orange property known Tennessee Avenue, worth $1.8 million.

"People take pride in seeing the community this way. The players of this novelty game will see our name every time they play," she said. "The name recognition certainly can't hurt."

Brian Coombes, executive director of Tourism Chilliwack, agreed it's definitely a positive for the community.

"Any time Chilliwack is put out there in the marketplace, it's a good thing, and it raises awareness about us as a destination."

How that will translate directly in terms of visitor increases, resident transplants or new businesses is pretty hard to predict, said the tourism official.

"But the fact that Chilliwack is recognized in this way, and did better than many of Canada's top cities, is an accomplishment in itself," Coombes said.

Chilliwack netted more votes than Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa during the voting period during January and February of this year.

Coombes said the voters were consistent, which clearly made a difference.

"I remember at one point we were on the cusp," he said. "Many locals were wondering what the results would be, so it was exciting to hear we made the board.

"Plus it was a positive to learn that there was no B.C. community with a higher placement."

Game-makers Hasbro Canada decided to use city names rather than street names for the first time in 2010, as the popular board game turns 75.

The Monopoly Canada 2010 game goes on sale June 28.

The following 22 cities earned spots on the game board, listed with the highest rent properties first:

• Dark Blue: Chatham-Kent, Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu

• Green: Calgary, Sarnia, Edmonton

• Yellow: Windsor, Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres

• Red: Medicine Hat, Gatineau, Shawinigan

• Orange: Kawartha Lakes, Chilliwack, Montreal

• Magenta: Kelowna, North Bay, St. John's

• Light Blue: Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver

• Brown: Beauceville, Banff

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