I have a hard time seeing how a private ice rink in this city can't break even. Hopefully we don't see city funds used to bail out a private operation!
The City spending my money chasing a market that does not exist at sustainable prices. I expect at least one of these guys at the planning stage to take a look around and ask why the successful private enterprise people haven`t built a new rink in years.
As Holyday says, the ice is rented at market prices, apparently, except for two groups -- MLSE, which pays a yearly flat fee, and the Toronto school board, which gets free ice. Well, you could kick out the Maple Leafs and kids and rent that time as well, and you might cover the deficit. However, it seems that the issue is that they built a Cadillac to attract the Leafs, and now can't service the debt. It's not the revenue that's the issue, it's the costs (i.e. the debt servicing charges.)
That would not have been the case if they had built a much smaller, more cost effective four-pad as was first proposed in the Portlands.
As to the argument about 'private enterprise ice', lots of rinks have been built -- but you build them where land is cheap -- Vaughan. Why waste valuable land downtown to build a rink when you could build other, better, more revenue producing things.
Finally -- arenas are an interesting thing. On one level, they're private enterprises. On another, they're more equivalent to parks (you can say the same about swimming pools, right?) So, when Leaside puts together a plan to twin their rink, it's a PPP in the greatest sense of the word and lots of negotiations go on. I don't think anyone would build another Rinx, because the city wouldn't allow you to build something so crappy these days (for fire and stomach safety reasons, if nothing else!)
