Lakers finally getting share of food, beverage sales

The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers are happy to get a $67,800 improvement to their rental agreement with the city.

The Lakers will get a share of food and beverage sales and ticket premiums they did not previously get. They will get use of the video scoreboard to generate some advertising revenue and use of a private suite to generate some income under a new agreement approved by city council’s committee of the whole on Monday. Council has to ratify the agreement at its next meeting.

Lakers communications director Brian Cowie said expenses related to the team’s 2015 trip to the Mann Cup in Victoria, B.C. put the team $30,000 in debt. They recouped that money in 2016, but the new deal alleviates some of the team’s financial stress, he said.

“Any bit of money is good, that’s for sure,” Cowie said. “I think it will help us come to more of a break-even point to our two-year cycle of going out west. A couple of years ago we went into the red because of our trip out west. We did have a good season last year but costs go up every year. We’re trying to be diligent in bringing some of our costs down, but we are going year-to-year right now.” The Lakers approached the city in January 2016 looking for improvements to a deal negotiated a decade earlier.

“They did give us what we were asking for,” Cowie said.

He said they were not expecting the same types of dollars as the Petes got ($353,500) realizing the two operations are different in economic scale.

“We’re fine just to be able to get some assistance and keep our team afloat,” Cowie said.

The Lakers will continue to rely heavily on sponsorship dollars from the community.

“We are out pounding the pavement for sponsors. It’s that time of year,” Cowie said.