Representatives of YMCA Calgary, which launched a bid to takeover management of Cochrane’s SLS Centre (SLSC), and who have faced pushback from local user groups, will get an opportunity to meet their opposition face to face next week at a public hearing at the Cochrane RancheHouse on June 11.
The YMCA’s plan to takeover the management of Cochrane’s largest multi-use sporting facility, which is jointly owned by the Town of Cochrane and Rocky View County (RVC), suffered a setback when Town councillors voted to hold a public hearing to illicit more answers from the YMCA about how it plans to manage the facility.
Some primary user groups, like the Cochrane Curling Club (CCC) and the Cochrane Minor Hockey Association (CMHA), are hoping to get answers out of the YMCA that could determine both groups' futures.
In correspondence with the Cochrane Eagle, officials with YMCA Calgary reiterated their stance that the current partnership agreements that SLSC user groups signed with the facility will remain intact. Those agreements, which groups sign every year with the SLSC, will have to be re-negotiated with the YMCA once it YMCA takes full control in 2026 (if it's allowed to take control at all.)
“Throughout the transition period and 2026, [the YMCA] will have individual conversations with each user group, partner, and tenant in the SLS Centre to understand their needs and interests in the facility,” Linda Chan, the director of strategic communications for YMCA Calgary wrote in an email to The Eagle. “There are no plans to change the current service offering at SLS Centre and we are committed to prioritizing and serving Cochrane’s unique needs.”
However, the Curling Club believes a YMCA takeover of the SLSC means the end of the Club’s lounge and social space, the On-The-Rocks-Lounge, which serves as a prominent source of club membership and revenue gathering. Kendall Waiting, the club president, said if the lounge–which he said is responsible for 25 per cent of the club’s membership–is forced to close, the club would soon follow.
“The CCC strongly opposes the proposed closure of the On the Rocks Lounge at the SLSC,” wrote Waiting “Far more than a bar, the lounge is a family-friendly, public gathering space that supports SLSC user group operations, member engagement, and community events. Its closure would have significant negative impacts on the CCC, the viability of curling in Cochrane, a majority of SLSC user groups and the local economy.”
For its part, the YMCA has not officially stated that it will force the closure of the lounge. Chan stated that “the YMCA does not intend to operate the lounge as its current operator does” but added that the YMCA will be “engaging in discussions about the future of the lounge” and will be “exploring all options.”
Waiting said the CCC’s issue with the YMCA proposal is not just about a facility, but about preserving a “cornerstone of community life, safeguarding a historic sport, and ensuring curling in Cochrane continues to thrive for generations to come.”
“At this time, there is no concrete proposal or timeline for an adequate replacement space. Suggestions such as using shared or repurposed meeting rooms are not acceptable substitutes,” Waiting said. “They fail to accommodate the needs of a vibrant and social sport like curling, and do not offer the amenities (such as a licensed service, visibility to the ice, and club branding) required for a genuine curling experience.”
Cochrane Minor Hockey Association (CMHA), perhaps the largest user group at the SLSC, is also not entirely supportive of the YMCA’s proposal, or how the Town has managed the public engagement of the takeover proposal.
CMHA President Paul Ringrose said Minor Hockey feels there has been “insufficient clarity” about the decision-making process regarding this potential takeover. He also said CMHA is interested in finding out how the YMCA plans to integrate and support the established youth sport organizations in the community.
CMHA has about 1,200 members all told, and last season it hosted 76 teams in the community. Minor Hockey uses all four ice surfaces in Cochrane (three at SLSC and one at the old Cochrane Arena), but due to its explosive growth in the last dozen years-- which has seen CMHA grow by about 800 members since 2013-- teams have been forced to use rinks outside of the community. Ringrose said, in total, CMHA teams utilize approximately 170-180 hours of ice time per week across all the facilities it uses, primarily SLSC.
But where things stand, CMHA doesn’t know how a future ice utilization would work with YMCA at the helm. Ringrose said the Association would like to see the user agreement between them and the SLSC remain unchanged.
“CMHA supports maintaining the current operational model, which it believes has been effective,” Ringrose said. “However, it remains open to alternative arrangements-- provided they address concerns around access and cost certainty.”
These questions, and more, will certainly be asked by concerned groups, CCC and CMHA among them, at the June 11 meeting, which will be attended by YMCA President Shannon Doram.
