Community and school groups could see their costs rise substantially if city council approves increased fees at many Prince George sporting arenas, fields and other civic venues today.
The decision will be made at a special meeting this morning to discuss proposals from the core services review.
On the table are increased fees for the use of Masich Place Stadium, the Prince George Aquatic Centre and for booking ice times at various hockey arenas in the city. For instance, the rental of ice at arenas would increase a cumulative 52 percent over three years - 15 percent as of Jan. 1, 2014 and an additional 15 percent in 2015 and 2016.
Chris Hopwood, vice president of the Prince George Minor Hockey Association, estimated the increases would cost a total of $180 for each registered hockey player over three years; under the new structure the fee to play would go up to about $509 by 2016.
"The $180 may not seem like a lot but the cost of hockey equipment goes up every year and so does everything else, including insurance and travel costs for teams attending tournaments," said Hopwood. "If we just talk ice, well, I'm a dad and I play hockey, so my ice is going up by that 15 percent a year for three years and I have two or three kids [that play hockey], so you're talking about almost $1,000 for a family for ice."
The cost of ice rental takes up about 50-60 per cent of the fees parents pay, Hopwood said, with the rest of the money going to pay costs ranging from referees to equipment to insurance.
In 2012-13 there were 1,150 kids registered with the PGMHA.
City administration is projecting increased fees for all sports would raise about $181,000.
PGMHA has seen their ice fees increase 3.5 percent each year for the last four years.
The city estimates the increases break down to between $49 and $66 per person each year over the next three.
Hopwood said the association is examining whether increasing fees for the upcoming season breaks the contract between the city and the PGMHA.
The PGMHA is the largest user of arena ice at CN Centre, the Coliseum, Elksentre and Kin Arenas. Hopwood said if the fee increase is approved the association would have to look at reducing ice times.
"Where we have a game now lasting one hour, 15 minutes, we'll have to go to an hour to get ice to give to another team so we wouldn't have to be buying so much ice," said Hopwood.
Most teams in the PGMHA receive two ice times per week (about two hours, 15 minutes). Midget teams receive two hours, 30 minutes a week.
"This has come up out of the blue that we're talking about this [today]," said Hopwood. "We're going to try and have some people down there and we're sending a letter to the mayor and all the councilors on this issue. There are other ways of raising revenue rather than just increasing the ice costs."
Hopwood suggested increasing advertising signage on the boards and around the arenas as well as selling the naming rights for the arenas.
The ice time increases would also affect schools who rent ice for their hockey programs, such as Heather Park elementary and Kelly Road secondary. It would also affect groups including: recreational hockey leagues; the Prince George Senior Lacrosse Association and minor lacrosse teams; and ball hockey leagues.
Glenn Scott, commissioner and president of the PGSLA, said an increase in rental fees would hurt the league, but he understands why the city administration is considering the move.
"A 15 percent increase would make it more difficult for each team to exist in the league and for the PGSLA to be viable in the city of Prince George," said Scott. "But if you look at it from a rationale viewpoint, I have to agree, because in order to maintain facilities that are top notch there has to be a cost."
Scott added that wages have also increased for city employees operating the arenas and the cost of the renovations and upgrades to Kin 1 are also a factor.
Hopwood, as well as other representatives for various user groups, concurred that fees should probably go up, but balked at hikes that could price many families out of hockey and other sports.
Al Hines, league administrator for the Prince George Men's Recreational Hockey League and the Gentlemen's League, said the proposed increases would likely mean fewer teams in the men's league, which is set to expand to 44-45 teams in the upcoming season.
"Our league, right now, is very well positioned to grow and use even more ice at the current rate," said Hines. "I understand that we probably need an increase that is above what we're used to, to start to recover some of the money but to do it all at once is not going to achieve the goal.
"If you look at it logically it's not going to achieve what they're trying to achieve," he added. "They're going to lose money trying to gain money. The city [would price out] users and... arenas would be sitting empty."
In 2012-13 there were 756 players registered in the men's league and 100 signed up in the women's league. The 2013 average ice fee per person was $329 for men and $291 for women. If the new fee structure is passed by council then each players' costs would rise between $150-$170 in the three-year period. The men's and women's leagues generally rent ice between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.
The proposed increase would be an average of $50 per person for men ($45 for women) in 2014; $57 ($50) in 2015; and $66 ($58) in 2016.
Hines said if that happens the recreational leagues would likely drop between 200 and 300 hours of ice time, going from 43 games a year to 30. He added that many of the league's players are shift workers who can only make 25-30 games a year but pay for 43.
He feared a 15 per cent raise in their fees over three years would prompt many to quit.
Hines said the men's league could probably sustain a five per cent increase each year.
Prince George is currently among the lowest-paying cities in British Columbia when it comes to user fees for arenas, stadiums and other sporting venues.
Hines said he's concerned because communities like Kamloops and Kelowna have been used as models for the proposed increases.
"Don't compare us to Kamloops, we're seven hours north," said Hines. "If you want to bring businesses and people into the city you have to have affordable winter activities. It's a winter city, it isn't Kamloops. It snows. As part of healthy living it just doesn't make sense."
The P.G. Figure Skating Club would see their ice time costs for the 300 registered users raised by $48 in 2014, $56 in 2015 and $63 in 2016. The current cost for the figure skating club is $319 per person.
Other proposed changes
Another recommendation city council will consider is creating a single fee of $21.50 per hour for park rentals effective Jan. 1, 2014, a change from the current two fee model for parks without power ($15.50) and parks with power ($21.50).
The cost of renting Masich Place Stadium would rise 10 percent every year for three years for user groups beginning Jan. 1, 2014, while the Prince George Track and Field Club would see their seasonal fee increase to $700 in 2014 and subsequent 10 percent raises in 2015 and 2016.
Brian Martinson, president of the PGTFC, said the proposed increase is fair.
"I don't think we overpay for our stadium use," said Martinson. "As long as it's a reasonable increase it's not so bad. It's when they want to implement large increases all at one time that it gets difficult."
The city will also look at raising the lease rate of sports fields for recreational user groups by $1,000 per year when current deals come up for renewal. There are 16 recreational groups that receive the low-cost rental rate under the agreements to rent city property at $10 per year. The lease expires for two groups March 31, 2014, for 12 groups March 31, 2015 and for a remaining two groups March 31, 2016. The city projects an annual estimated increase in gross revenue of $15,840 with the increase.
Today's special city council meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. A closed-door meeting is slated for 4 p.m. with the regular public council meeting to begin at 6 p.m.
