A WALK IN THE PARK
Drop in the cost of passes boosts number of visitors to six city-owned facilities
Five-year-old Jastine Perdomo tries balancing on the blocks at PotashCorp Playland on Tuesday. The youngster is eager for May 14 when the park opens, so she can ride the ferris wheel and help her grandparents run the concession. The revamped park sold tickets for an average of 1,750 rides per day in its 120-day season last year.
The City of Saskatoon’s strategy to attract more visitors by slashing the cost of recreation centre passes appears to have kept paying off in 2016 — at least in attendance numbers, if not so much in revenue.
General admissions at the city’s six recreation centres rose by 117,316 compared to 2015 — to 915,761, or a 14.7 per cent increase. Including registered programs and rentals, about 1.57 million visits were made to the recreation centres.
On the general admission side, the Saskatoon Field House had the biggest increase at 21.8 per cent, followed by the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre at 21.1 per cent.
General admission revenue topped $4.88 million, an increase of $139,100 or 2.9 per cent.
The 2016 annual report detailing activity and revenue at the city’s recreation facilities was presented at Monday’s meeting of the planning, development and community services committee.
Coun. Hilary Gough said she’s OK with revenues not increasing at the same rate as attendance.
“I think it’s a good news story for our city,” she told the committee.
In September 2015, city council voted to slash the price of monthly passes to $45 from $75 for adults and to $90 from $150 for families. That appeared to pay off immediately with an increase of 27,000 admissions in 2015 alone.
In 2016, registered programs like swimming lessons pulled in $1.26 million, a slight decline of $3,600 at the city’s six recreation centres — Cosmo Civic Centre, Harry Bailey, Lakewood Civic Centre, Lawson Civic Centre, the field house and the Shaw Centre.
Rental revenues at the facilities increased slightly to $1.39 million in 2016 — a jump of $34,800 or 2.6 per cent.
The Shaw Centre continued to attract the most general admission visits with 294,754 in 2016, followed by Lakewood (194,392) and the field house (190,343).
The popularity of the city’s four outdoor pools continued to decline last year. The pools attracted 78,753 visitors in 2016, down by 4,904 or 5.9 per cent. Average temperature during the 300 days the pools were open in 2016 was 24 C. Outdoor swimmers declined by more than 2,500 in 2015 compared to 2014.
Revenue at the outdoor pools in 2016 dropped by $23,300 or 7.3 per cent, to $294,000.
Last year was the first full season of PotashCorp Playland at Kinsmen Park, which reopened in August 2015. During the 120day season, 210,781 ride tickets — 1,750 rides per day — were sold. The facility was also rented out 105 times, attracting about 10,000 more people, the report says.
The refurbished park features a miniature train, carousel and distinct yellow ferris wheel. The park attracted an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 per day before it closed in 2013 for upgrades. Ticket prices for the rides have doubled since the improvements were made.
Attendance and revenue at the city’s three golf courses declined in 2016, but the report attributes this to the closure of part of Holiday Park for a $1.5-million redevelopment, plus an early fall snowfall that forced the courses to close three to four weeks early.
Golf outings at the three courses dropped last year to 110,687, compared to 121,196 in 2015 and 116,086 in 2014. Golf course revenues also dropped to a three-year low of $3.5 million, down from $3.79 million in 2015 and $3.52 million in 2014.
The golf courses still paid for themselves despite the drop, and the Holiday Park work was paid for from reserve funds, the report notes.
Revenues at the city’s five indoor arenas with ice sheets rose to $2.12 million, up from $2.02 million in 2015 and $1.99 million in 2014.