Roseland proposes $ 4.3 million clubhouse, leaves snuggling issue to council

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It is no coincidence that Roseland Golf and Curling Club is having its best financial year in 10 or 15 years in a year in which its money-losing clubhouse operation is shut down due to COVID precautions.

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The dated, dark, energy inefficient and cavernous clubhouse has long been the albatross of the city-owned club, which is why the club’s board is seeking city council approval to tear it down and replace the structure. 50,000 square feet from the 1970s with a $ 4.3- million clubhouse that is 8,000 square feet, providing clients with just the services they need. But one of the big questions is what to do with the curling operation that is part of the existing clubhouse and has around 400 loyal players using six finely maintained ice sheets.

A consultant hired by the board basically recommended taking down the entire clubhouse, including the curling operation, and no more curling at the new clubhouse, the board president, and Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis said. He said the consultant recommended that if the curly is kept, it should have its own free-standing building, either in Roseland or somewhere else.

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“The board had no interest in getting rid of the curly,” Francis said. “Most of the board wanted to keep curling up, but what does that look like as a standalone facility?”

That question mark was passed on to the city administration, which is in the process of preparing a report for the council on the future of the Roseland clubhouse, including what to do with the curling. The board expects management to provide input on whether to rebuild or renovate the clubhouse, and whether to build a new freestanding curling facility in Roseland or relocate the curling elsewhere, possibly using an existing ice shelf, as a recent recreation master plan identified that Windsor has one more than it needs. The board has also asked if it would be possible to tear down the rest of the clubhouse but keep the curling facility as a separate operation separate from the new clubhouse. The costs of all these options would presumably be part of the management report that is expected for the new year.

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The prospect of moving to an old arena doesn’t do well for rollers, who say it simply wouldn’t work because the curved ice surface of specialized pebbles cannot be properly produced and maintained in a large hockey arena, even one that is used only for curling.

It’s dated, needs updating

“You would disenfranchise a lot of the rollers, they wouldn’t be interested in playing on a surface that is below average. It takes the skill out of the game, ”said Andrew Kuntz, who helped organize a Roseland curler protest last year when the board closed curling season over COVID concerns. The season is running this year. Kuntz said that “any plan to host curling anywhere other than a curling facility would be like blowing smoke, wasting time.”

Kuntz said the rollers feel “left out in the cold, so to speak,” when it comes to receiving feedback on the Roseland facility overhaul. “Several curlers have expressed their concerns to me about what the future of curling in the city will be like.”

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Another curler, Nick Keren, said that moving to an aging stadium would not translate into the quality that ice curling needs. While the curling community would ideally like to stay in Roseland, moving to a new, dedicated curling facility “would be the best alternative.”

Ward 10 Coun. Jim Morrison, an avid curling iron, said the city has to keep curling somewhere.

“The preference is to keep him at Roseland. It’s a golf and curling club, ”he said, adding that while he would hate to see it moved elsewhere, he will wait for the final report. He said it is possible to make good curved ice in sand, something Windsor has in excess.

“You would take out the sand and start over, it can work,” he said.

The reason for having curling aside from the new clubhouse is that you wouldn’t have to keep the entire clubhouse operation running during the winter months when the main income generator, golf, is down.

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Francis said that at the end of October, Roseland had a profit of $ 600,000 for the year.

“In the eight years that I have been on the board, we have never seen a profit of $ 600,000 in the last two months of the year,” he said. “Because the clubhouse was closed and will close next year, we are not incurring those traditional costs with respect to utilities, with respect to food and beverages, that we had in previous years that really takes our bottom line. line.”

Traditionally, golf has generated most of the profits in Roseland, curling essentially balances out, and the clubhouse, particularly the food and beverage operations, loses money, according to Francis. A previous customer survey showed that 77 percent said a new clubhouse would entice them to come in and hang out. This season, a simplified food and beverage menu was supplied outside.

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“The main problem, the main problem is the clubhouse,” Francis said, recounting how customers say its lack of appeal actually prevents them from coming in and enjoying a meal.

“It is outdated, needs an update. We have boilers that, when they run out, will cost between $ 20,000 and $ 30,000 to replace a boiler. You have a roof that needs to be replaced to the tune of half a million. “

The rationale for the demolition is that you shouldn’t keep spending hundreds of thousands of dollars maintaining and paying utility bills on a facility that is much larger than you need, he said.

Francis said the $ 4.3 million for the clubhouse, either a replacement or a renovation, was approved by the council in the 2021 budget.

He said that if curling entered an existing arena, it would no longer be a hockey rink. It would be a curling rink, adapted to meet the needs of the rollers.

Based on previous council decisions regarding curling, Francis said he does not believe it is the will of the council to ditch curling.

“I don’t want to get rid of the curl, the board doesn’t want to get rid of the curl, but we want to know what our options are to provide it in a way that is cost effective.”

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