Morinville needs to think partnerships, phases, and fitness if it wants its new rec-centre to be a success, says a provincial specialist.
Morinville needs to think partnerships, phases, and fitness if it wants its new rec-centre to be a success, says a provincial specialist.
Town council heard almost a hour's-worth of advice last week on how to plan its new rec-centre from Roger Smolnicky, director of recreation and community services for Rocky Mountain House.
Smolnicky has extensive experience in setting up and running recreation centres, including the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre in Spruce Grove and the Leduc Recreation Centre.
Multi-use rec-centres are the trend in Alberta right now since they have better cost-recovery than stand-alone facilities, Smolnicky said. You might get back about half of your costs with an arena, for example, but you could recover 60 to 100 per cent with a multiplex.
A lot of that depends on population, he added. The Tri Leisure Centre started off with about 25,000 people in its service area, and has climbed to 85 per cent cost-recovery from about 70 due to Spruce Grove's population growth. Most multi-use rec-centres will capture about 10 per cent of a region's population, Smolnicky said.
“One of the anchors is fitness,” he continued – by having a fitness centre as its core, the rec-centre has a way to make money (memberships) apart from simply renting ice time on a rink.
Partnerships are essential for a successful centre, Smolnicky said. Naming rights can help pay for both capital and operating costs, as can leasing spaces to businesses. Partner with a primary care network, as the Leduc centre has, and you can sell memberships and encourage fitness by having doctors give out prescriptions to get active.
When it came to regional partnerships, Smolnicky said the best cost-sharing systems he's seen have county governments chip in towards the facility's costs based on the percentage of their residents that use the place. Others have tried going 50/50 on operating costs or making a single lump-sum payment.
“It's really important to consider a phased-in approach to these facilities,” Smolnicky said.
Morinville probably doesn't need two rinks right off the bat, for example– towns typically need just one per every 9,000 people. Likewise, instead of building a full aquatics centre immediately, Leduc started with a six-lane pool and a hot tub/steam room and later added a leisure pool.
Community members got to try planning Morinville's new rec-centre last Thursday at an open house.
