Edmonton Ski Club seeks $388,000 to open season

105-year-old institution looking for emergency funding from city

The 105-year-old Edmonton Ski Club asked the city for emergency funding Monday, saying they need $388,000 immediately just to open this season.

The club is asking for $1.3 million over five years to buy time while they wait for questions around LRT construction and the master plan for Gallagher Park to be settled. The exact track alignment still hasn’t been set and the city wants to determine how the whole park will be used before it OK’s the ski club’s expansion and business plan.

Community services committee supported the emergency request Monday, but it and the long-term funding still need council approval.

“If we don’t do this, we run the risk of losing an asset,” said Coun. Ben Henderson, painting the funding as a way just to get them through the current construction turmoil. The Valley Line LRT will run through the river valley and up the hill there; it could take away a small amount of the ski club’s terrain.

The ski club also got emergency funding from the city five years ago. At that time, the city forced them to do a forensic audit, which found mismanagement and large debt.

“We’ve cleaned up our act,” said executive director Ken Saunders. The club has paid down about half of the $300,000 debt and increased its corporate sponsorships. Visitor numbers are up — 33,000 last year compared to an average 5,000 to 10,000 five years ago — and revenue was at $600,000 last year, up from $291,000 in 2010-11.

The club would like to introduce climbing and mountain biking during the summer and ice climbing and cross-country skiing for the winter. But that has to wait for the city’s master plan, expected to be complete in 2019. Seven councillors at the committee meeting all spoke in support of helping the ski club become sustainable.

“It would be a shame not to have a ski hill right off the LRT,” said Coun. Bev Esslinger.

She asked the club to come back with more of the details supporting their business plan.

“I really want to see that gem maintained.”