Spitfires asking city for $78,333
Memorial Cup host seeking relief on WFCU Centre rental fees
After spending $990,000 of taxpayer dollars on upgrades to the WFCU Centre to spruce it up for the Memorial Cup, city council is being asked by the Windsor Spitfires to waive an additional $78,333 in rental fees.
The request is being made by the 2017 Memorial Cup Host Organizing Committee, an entity that was created specifically to handle the Memorial Cup but is acting on the Spitfires’ behalf.
“What they’re asking for would be the rental rate if anybody wanted to rent the facility,” said WFCU Centre manager Ray Mensour, who prepared a report on the request that will go before city council on Monday.
Mensour is recommending that council deny the request for the waived fees.
“We’ve been in talks with them through the whole process and recently this was a formal request,” said Mensour.
Ken Pretli, the chair of the finance committee for the organizing committee, said by email that they have no comment on the request.
“We would prefer to answer any questions after city council has considered our request,” Pretli wrote.
Windsor was awarded the 2017 Memorial Cup in May 2016 and since that time the city and the Spitfires, through the organizing committee, have been working on hosting the event.
The two have a letter of understanding for the Memorial Cup outlining responsibilities beyond the agreement for the Spitfires during the regular season and playoffs.
“Representatives of the HOC have identified requests that were not part of the letter of understanding and/or the Windsor Spitfires licence agreement,” Mensour writes in his report.
“This request would normally … be considered under the waiver of fees policy, but given the large amount of fee waiver being requested and the fact that city council already approved a significant amount in one-time costs to upgrade the WFCU in part for this event, administration is recommending against this request and remaining consistent with the letter of understanding and licence agreement.”
Last October, council agreed to spend $250,000 for a new media platform above suite level, $220,000 for new rink boards and glass, $175,000 for extra costs and contingency funds and $185,000 for an additional dressing room.
Other enhancements include Internet and electrical wiring, rubber flooring, painting and parking flow improvements.
Last week, the city agreed to purchase 15 of the 60 acres adjacent to the WFCU owned by London developer Shmuel Farhi for an undisclosed price.
Parking issues for Game 4 of the opening round series between the Spitfires and London Knights resulted in 100 tickets being issued.
Council also spent $35,000 on the bid for the Memorial Cup.
The HOC request is for the period of May 15-18 prior to the first game of the tournament, the setup period, and for May 29, the teardown day, which at a rate of $11,670.69 for five days amounts to $58,353.45.
The HOC is also asking for a waiver of the $19,979.25 fees for the pool, which will sit idle for the duration of the tournament.
So far in 2017, council has approved $25,202 of waiver fees and grant funding for other organizations.