News
Mariners Centre Board Aiming For Ice on August 10th, Reviewing Covid-19 Financials
22-Jul-2020
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Mariners Centre Board Aiming For Ice on August 10th, Reviewing Covid-19 Financials
As plans for a safe, phased reopening are underway the Board is looking closely at the current financial situation to determine the timing and viability of installing ice
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020 - Yarmouth, N.S. – At Tuesday’s Board Meeting, members met to further discuss plans for the safe reopening of the Mariners Centre facility. The board passed an Operational Plan for Phase 1 Re-Opening, and proper Sanitation Procedures. At a previous meeting the board approved Protocols for meeting spaces and non-ice activities.
Operational Plan: CLICK HERE
Sanitation Procedures: CLICK HERE
With those Safety Protocols and Policies in place, the board has decided to aim for August 10th for ice in Arena 2.
“This will be a good first test for staff and users to adjust to the new rules,” explains board chair Wade Cleveland. “The goal of the first phase is to try out the protocols and see how it goes, making adjustments as necessary before we move to the next phases. We’ll fine tune as needed and eventually, as more people make use of our services, staff and users will be fully adjusted to the new rules. It’s really about making sure we keep everyone safe as the number one priority.”
With that date in place, the Board is moving cautiously forward. While there has been demand for ice, it is now time to gauge how much demand there actually is. The Mariner’s Centre will be looking to interested parties for commitments as to how many hours per week they will require, and for those groups to present a plan for proper Social Distancing while using the facility.
An important discussion also took place around financials. In particular, the impact of the closure during COVID-19 on revenue and the viability of bringing back ice with limited users and uncertainty surrounding league play.
The board looked closely at how the closure affects the current budget. Funded by the three municipalities, the Mariners Centre runs an operational deficit each year. The closure due to COVID-19 means lost revenue and before heading into a phase where ice is brought back, a close examination was needed to find a path forward that doesn’t incur a much larger deficit.
That discussion brought about a couple of changes: a temporary increase in the hourly rate for ice, and a requirement that all rentals need to be prepaid at the time of booking.
“We know that there are people who want to see ice as soon as possible, and we understand the desire,” said Cleveland. “But there are certain realities we are facing as a board running the facility that we can’t ignore. The current rules place limits on the number of users and some of the usual groups that would use ice won’t be there without league play. So, we have to strike some type of balance between providing access to ice in a safe environment without digging a huge financial hole. The numbers need to make sense.”
The board will be meeting again on August 4th, one week before the scheduled date for ice, to determine if the demand is strong enough to move forward.
For more information contact:
Wade Cleveland, Board Chair
