YMCA says remaining branches are viable
Declining membership meant Niagara Falls venue ‘definitely’ would have closed without virus
YMCA Niagara says its four remaining branches across the region will remain open and are financially viable.
That comes after its decision earlier this week to permanently close the Niagara Falls YMCA, and follows the 2019 closure of the Fort Erie YMCA.
“At this point in time, especially the smaller centres for sure” are viable, said YMCA Niagara interim chief executive officer Steve Boone.
“And we’re examining the Walker Centre (in St. Catharines), really trying to encourage our members to come back because obviously that’s a very big facility.
“We need to have the membership base to make that financially viable. All indications right now are that we are hoping that’s going to happen.”
Besides St. Catharines, the Y has branches in Welland, Port Colborne and Grimsby.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, those facilities are currently closed except for child-care programs. Some programs have moved online.
When they can reopen, Boone said, it will likely be done in stages, “which means that maybe not all of our fitness centres will open up at once, No. 1. We’ll have to look at that.”
He said the YMCA has three revenue streams — fees for service, like memberships or child care; government funding for programs like employment and immigrant services; and philanthropy and fundraising.
Government assistance has increased during the pandemic, he said, but fundraising has taken a hit and the Y isn’t accepting membership fees while it’s closed.
“That being said, we’re really trying to think outside the box a little bit” to make up for revenue shortfalls, he said.
Without access to full memberships, the Y is offering more online programs with specific fees, such as a variety of fitness or nutrition options including personal instruction.
He said the Niagara Falls YMCA “definitely” would have closed regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Membership there was only about 40 per cent of the level required to be financially stable.
With YMCAS generally known for “gym and swim,” he said, all branches are facing increased competition from private gyms that can charge less for targeted programs.
“So if all you wanted to do was a cycle-fit class, there are cyclefit studios you can go to without having to worry about having a membership that goes to pay for the pool and the individual finishing areas,” Boone said.
“We are kind of an all-inclusive model and for some people that’s great, for others it’s not.”
He added as a community organization, the YMCA has to absorb costs private gyms don’t.
“We never deny anybody the opportunity of being a member of the Y … their fee is based on the ability to pay,” Boone said.
“Sometimes, depending on the Y, 25 to 30 per cent of the membership base could be financially assisted.”
People are “not necessarily cancelling” their memberships during COVID, he said. But at the same time, the Y cannot accept membership fees because it is closed.
Being based at the Macbain Centre in Niagara Falls, he said, carried high infrastructure costs and especially vigorous competition from local gyms.
“It’s a gorgeous facility, but with the membership base we had we just couldn’t absorb all the costs.”
High maintenance and repair costs were also cited by the YMCA when it closed its Fort Erie operation in 2019. In that instance, it sold the building back to the town.
As the Niagara YMCA branches reopen, Boone said, some programs could be changed or dropped outright to stay in step with the market.
“I’ll tell you who makes that determination — our members,” he said.
“We survey them, we talk to them, we found out what they’re looking for … our program framework is dramatically different from what it was 15 years ago.”