City of Iqaluit considers raising curling club's rent

The City of Iqaluit's recreation department says it may have raise the rent for the curling club to $18,000 a yearto help cover the cost of operating the rink.

The club uses the city-run rink for six months of the year and currently pays between $7,000 and $9,000 a year in rent.

It costs the city $104,000 to operate the facility for the six months the club uses it, which is significantly more than the $41,000 it costs to run the facility for the other half of the year when it's used as a skateboard park.

"While it is true the city is subsidizing the curling club, the sport of curling in Iqaluit does bring a really great social opportunity for many people,"said AmyElgersma,Iqaluit'sdirector of recreation.

"Basically recreation facilities in Canada, most of them, end up being subsidized. The goal is to subsidize the facilities less."

Robin Manoll, president of the curling club, said the club is an important cultural cornerstone for not only the city but the territory, having represented Nunavutfor the first time this yearat the Brier and the Scotties.

This year the club has 115 members although there is only space for 32 players on any given night.

"As anybody who is involved in sport and recreation realizes, it's non-revenue generating so we can't say we can go earn more money," said Manoll.

"We use more than we can make."

Ultimately it will be up to city council to decide to raise the fees, keep them the same or do something else entirely with the curling facility.