WEST FARGO — When comparing West Fargo’s two ice facilities — West Fargo Sports Arena and Veterans Memorial Arena — the Park District found Veterans Memorial costs about the same as the Sports Arena to operate, but it generates far less money.
Parks District Operations Manager Josh Mathern gathered budget information and presented it to the Fargo Park Board on Wednesday, March 4. Officials plan to use the information as the board considers future capital improvement projects.
The Sports Arena is a two-ice rink facility built by the West Fargo School District and operated in partnership with West Fargo Events. Veterans Memorial Arena, located at West Fargo High School, also operates two ice sheets but is owned and operated by the Park District.
The three school district hockey programs — West Fargo, Horace and Sheyenne — all host boys and girls hockey games at the Sports Arena.
Veterans Arena dismantles one of its ice sheets and uses the space for public events during spring and summer.
Mathern said the annual total operating costs for the Veterans Memorial Arena are $845,189, which includes $448,000 of staffing costs and $397,189 of non-staffing costs. The Sports Arena costs $875,000 annually to operate, of which $411,100 is for staffing and $463,900 is for non-staffing costs.
Non-staffing costs can include equipment or maintenance costs, while staffing costs include part-time and full-time staff. For example, the park budget’s concessions line item of $50,000 treats food and equipment as separate items, while the Sports Arena breaks out the costs at $50,000 for food, plus $3,500 for equipment and $8,000 for concession supplies.
«I did the best I could do to do number-for-number comparisons,» Mathern said.
Not included in the budget comparisons were capital improvements, maintenance, land, bonds, and some revenue items at the Veterans Memorial Arena, such as the annual citywide rummage sale and the learn-to-skate programs.
While operating costs are comparable, the two facilities differ significantly in revenue.
«Revenue is where things change substantially,» Mathern said.
Veterans Memorial Arena generated about $430,000 in annual revenue, including $85,000 in concessions, $60,000 in general rental and $285,000 in ice rental.
The Sports Arena generated $725,500 annually. The arena earns about $125,000 in concession revenue, $100,000 in rental revenue from the West Fargo School District, $440,000 in facility rental and $60,500 in miscellaneous revenue.
Park District officials said concessions are likely higher at the Sports Arena because it’s home to the high school teams.
Parks Executive Director Amy Zundel said the Sports Arena can also sell ads inside the arena and offers sponsorships to bolster «miscellaneous revenue.»
Zundel said the Park District’s learn to skate program generates about $28,000 per year, and the rummage sale will generate about $14,000 at the Sports Arena.
Park Board President Jake Lauritsen also pointed out the Sports Arena keeps both its ice sheets operational year-round, while the Park District uses only one ice sheet over the summer.
Zundel said, unlike Sports Arena hours, Veterans Memorial Arena is open to the public all day long, and it offers a walking track and other dryland services. She said the arena generated about $36,000 in dry-land rentals last year.
«So that would be pretty tough to get back (if ice was in the arena year-round),» Zundel said.
Overall, the Veterans Memorial Arena operates at a net loss of $415,189, and the West Fargo Sports Arena has a loss of $149,500.
The Park Board will use these cost and revenue comparisons of ice arenas to consider and prioritize general improvement projects across the district’s facilities.
The board may also use the information when partnering with private organizations, such as the West Fargo Hockey Association and the West Fargo Baseball Association, both of which have historically lobbied the Park District for facility improvements.
Last fall, representatives of the West Fargo Hockey Association floated the idea of taking over operations at Veterans Memorial Arena as the group continues to look for additional ice facilities in the area, including a plan to partner with the city of Horace to build a new ice hockey facility.
The Park Board may also consider future revenue-generating options, such as selling advertising within its facilities.
«The question is, do we want public spaces with advertisements in them … or is this a question we do a community survey on?» Zundel said.
The Park Board plans to discuss an advertising policy for its facilities at its regular April meeting. The Park Board meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday at the Rustad Recreation Center in West Fargo.