City of Summerside agrees to take over the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex

The City of Summerside is taking over the Silver Fox Entertainment Complex after city councillors voted unanimously in favour of doing so on Tuesday night.

The volunteer board that has been running the complex approached the city earlier this year asking it to take over the operation — not to mention $525,000 of debt. 

"I think it's the right decision for the city. It's certainly the right decision for the complex," said Bill Martin, a board volunteer at the Silver Fox. 

"We've spent the last 18 months focused entirely on keeping the lights on, as opposed to growing our sports." 

The not-for-profit facility is home to the western P.E.I. city's only curling club, as well as a marina and restaurant. Its name hearkens back to the early 1900s, when the Island was caught up in the silver fox farming craze. 

The volunteer board's only options were to hand it over to the city, or sell the complex and risk having it turned into something else. 

"If, let's say hypothetically, it did go on the open market and we lost curling, we're talking $8 million to $10 million more to build a new [facility]," Martin said. 

'An important community asset' 

The Silver Fox is an important part of the community, said Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher. 

"We've got near 100 senior curlers in our community — active, engaging with each other, socializing with each other, being fit, being healthy," he said. "It is a place that brings people together." 

Kutcher said the people who were running the curling club had to spend too much time trying to keep the lights on or deal with repairs to the facility. 

The city's ownership of the complex will be "a great opportunity for the club to be able to focus on growing the sport… while we take on the responsibility of maintaining the physical building," he said. 

Handing those responsibilities over to the city "takes the pressure off," said Ken Robichaud, a member of the Summerside Curling Club and the facility's board of management. 

"The uncertainty kind of stymied our growth this year," he said. 

"We have our AGM coming up in a couple months, and that's where we'll lay out the plan for moving forward." 

Management and operations

The city will have to make some "tough decisions" on the operational side because the complex has not been generating revenue, said Kutcher. 

But he said the city has a track record of maintaining and operating recreation and cultural facilities. 

City staff will look after the recreation facilities at the Silver Fox, but the restaurant and bar will be leased out to a private operator, Kutcher said, adding: "We've already had a number of people knocking at the door." 

The city said it's confident that the Silver Fox will break even within a couple years, but it does expect some job losses. 

Kutcher said he expects the city to officially take over the Silver Fox sometime in April.