Servus Place has turned in its best year so far. Revenue-wise, that is.
Higher than expected revenues in 2013 led to a 92 per cent cost recovery for the recreation facility.
“It means that 92 per cent of the costs to operate Servus Place are recovered through revenues,” said Diane Enger, director of recreation and parks for the city.
The first year Servus Place was open cost recovery was 68 per cent. In 2012, cost recovery was 88 per cent.
According to graphs showing the facility’s operational deficit, the deficit in 2013 was $742,447, the first time it’s been under a million dollars since opening.
“Revenues continue to grow. Expenses we’ve kept in line with budget and on track,” Enger said.
Those revenues include rental offerings.
“Our utilization in terms of our ice and fields is really strong. Our prime time is close to capacity and our non-prime time is getting stronger and stronger,” Enger said. Even May and June, usually a quieter time, are starting to get filled with events.
“It really is becoming an events-hub for the community as well,” she said.
Sponsorship and advertising revenue added about $600,000 to the bottom line.
And Starbucks turned in an operating profit of more than $80,000, leaving a $45,000 profit after $35,000 was transferred to reserves.
That’s significantly better than 2012, where after the $35,000 transfer to reserves, Starbucks was about $1,900 in deficit, the quarterly report for Servus Place shows.
“I think it shows that it’s definitely a service that the community looks to at Servus Place,” Enger said of the 2013 profits. She noted there were more than 119,000 transactions at the coffee shop last year.
The number of members has remained consistent at around 7,000, but there was an increase of 12 per cent to usage in 2013 over the previous year.
About one million visitors attended Servus Place. Enger said that there’s about 2,700 people going through the doors a day.
“All good things need time to grow,” Enger said of the performance improvements since the facility opened in 2007. “The community has experienced it. We’ve really tried to position Servus Place as a customer-centred approach.”
