How important are fries to a rink?
Not very, if you ask local rink managers, who say that the cost of operating a canteen is high and returns low.
“I guess traditionally it has been a big part of the arena experience, but there are a lot of rinks that seem to be moving away from that,” says Mike Adams, rink manager of the John Brother MacDonald Stadium. “It is expensive equipment, there’s no doubt about it. There is maintenance and there is the cost of operating. You do have to sell quite a large volume to recoup your costs let alone try to come out with a net gain.”
The issue of fries came up earlier this week during a rink commission meeting in Stellarton with commissioners discussing whether it would be worthwhile to pay approximately $3,000 to upgrade the deep fryer, which has been out of commission for a decade.
Like Adams, Bob Naylor, who is involved with the Hector arena in Pictou, says fries may make a nice snack, but they don’t make or break a rink’s success.
Their canteen is operated by some local women.
“Lots of days it doesn’t pay them to open,” he said.
It looks as if deep-fat-fried fries may not even be on the menu at the Pictou County Wellness Centre with discussions underway to provide more health-conscious food at the facility.
“It will no doubt probably be harder to sell, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Warden Ron Baillie.
The principle behind the Wellness Centre is for a healthier community, and offering foods that undermine that seems a bit out of place.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but he said they will try to come up with a solution that provides food that people want to eat and is also healthier.
“I would say we would try to come to a happy medium that will please both sides,” he said.
As trivial as a serving of fries at the rink may sound, this and other matters that relate to arena atmospheres and success are all of growing importance in the county. Stellarton has become concerned with securing the future of their rink as the opening day for the Pictou County Wellness Centre draws closer with some speculating that as the oldest it would be the most likely to close.
Public meetings to discuss the matter have shown that people in the community overwhelmingly want to keep it an ice surface however, which has left the town searching for ways to make that possible.
A study done while the Wellness Centre was still being discussed said that the county could support six ice surfaces and Naylor said he was under the impression at the time that two of the county’s six rinks would close. If all six try to stay open in addition to the two new surfaces at the Wellness Centre, he worries about what will happen to his own Pictou rink, which is in need of some serious repairs.
“If there’s only six ice surfaces we have a shot at it. If we have eight, everybody’s going to suffer, including the Wellness Centre.”
He feels that Stellarton and New Glasgow are in the worst condition and should be the ones to close. (Both Stellarton and New Glasgow maintain that their rinks are in good condition however.)
Others are reluctant to say as much on the record.
“It’s always a concern, but you don’t know what they’re going to do,” said Darryl Marcott, manager of the Trenton rink, speaking on whether the Wellness Centre will impact other rinks.
He said the Wellness Centre opening will likely hurt some businesses, but shouldn’t affect them too much.
Trenton has had some major upgrades in recent years including a new ice plant and is considered to be in the best condition in the county. While the upgrades didn’t really increase business, Marcott said it helped them remain viable by increasing the length of time they can keep ice in and by offering a better product to their clients.
Quality of ice and cleanliness are the important factors he and other rink managers said, backing a comment made by Stellarton councillor Denise Taylor earlier this week.
“Your first priority is the product, being your ice surface,” said Adams. “You want a clean, safe environment.”
Fries? Well they’re just a tasty bonus.
