The Campus Ice Centre, a facility shared by Durham College and Ontario Tech University, serves as a hub for student activities and community rentals.
General Manager Tim Watson oversees both operational and administrative teams to ensure the facility runs smoothly.
The operations team handles ice maintenance and building upkeep and cleanliness, while the administrative team manages programming and scheduling.
Watson’s primary responsibility is to ensure smooth operations while keeping both the college and university informed about activities at the centre.
“We don’t want to impact student groups because this is a facility on campus,” he said. “We want the students to be able to use it.”
Students have free access to public skating from noon to 2 p.m. on weekdays, as well as stick-and-puck sessions and skate rentals.
“Students, faculty and staff can participate in stick-and-puck sessions for free, where they can skate with helmets, gloves and sticks,” Watson said. “There’s no student fee, so none of your student fees come to the Campus Ice Centre.”
Watson says balancing student use with financial sustainability is an ongoing challenge. The Ice Centre’s operating costs this year are estimated at $1.3 million, which is near to breaking even.
The facility is funded entirely by external sources such as community rentals, prime-time games and varsity hockey bookings.
According to Brad MacIsaac, Ontario Tech University’s vice president of administration, the university manages commercial services like food and parking through a separate commercial service budget.
“If one area goes into a deficit, another commercial service would look after it, but it’s more like a loan,” MacIsaac said. “If the Ice Centre provides a profit next year, it would pay back into that commercial service.”
MacIsaac emphasized the importance of building reserves for future maintenance and upgrades.
“Commercial services like this should be breaking even or making a profit to set aside funds for big replacements, like a roof or the ice chiller,” he said.
Historically, the city was the primary tenant, but that is no longer the case. Rates once tied to the city’s pricing structure are now being adjusted.
“I want us to gradually increase our charges to match other local rinks. We’re below market rates in some areas and need to slowly raise prices,” Watson said.
“If I raised rates from $250 to $300 all of a sudden, a lot of groups wouldn’t book ice with us. They’d go find a cheaper option within the city,” he added. “We need to slowly build their loyalty, charging $260 next year, $285 the following year, and so on until we reach a sustainable level.”
MacIsaac said the gradual rate increases are necessary for long-term sustainability.
“Our rate increases might be a bit faster because we started at a lower rate, but we’re watching closely to ensure we balance costs like labour and utilities with inflationary pressures,” he said.
“As any building ages, so does its equipment,” Watson said. Replacing equipment has always been a challenge due to limited funds.
To address this, the Ice Centre works with the university and college to find the money needed for repairs.
One of the biggest challenges was a major overhaul of the ice pad a few years ago.
“We had to replace the entire ice surface in Pad 2 due to issues with the underfloor heating,” Watson said, “It was a huge operational and financial challenge.”
The project involved removing concrete, replacing piping and rebuilding the surface. It disrupted bookings and added significant financial strain.
“There aren’t any surplus funds at the Ice Centre, so any shortages are worked out between the college and university,” Watson said.
Adding to that, MacIsaac said the college and university collaborate closely on financial planning for the facility.
“For large repairs, there’s a joint working group that includes athletic directors and finance teams from both institutions,” he said. “They review costs and approve budgets collaboratively.”
Raising awareness about the facility among students is a key goal for Watson.
“It’s amazing how many students don’t know we exist,” he said.
“I really want students to know that the Ice Centre is here for them to use.”