Eye to the future for the Keystone Centre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/05/2024 (650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A few days before its grand opening in April of 1973, a Brandon Sun staff writer named Andy Moir offered a broad overview of the trials and tribulations of the difficult birth of our city’s pre-eminent agricultural and entertainment facility, the Keystone Centre.

And based on Moir’s report at the time, the fact that the Keystone Centre was ever built in the first place was quite the feat for this city to pull off.

Two groups, promoting two different ideas for the site — one a multi-purpose facility for agricultural and entertainment pursuits, and the other for a Western Manitoba Auditorium. Both were both vying for the same pots of government funding, and neither side wanted to unite their efforts. When funding the Keystone Centre project became an issue, right in the middle of construction, an entire election was fought on whether to scale down the facility from its lofty goals and price tag.

This was in the days when Brandon’s leaders dreamed big:

“As envisioned at the start of construction, the centre would house a 5,000-seat arena, (an) 800-seat hitching ring, a 1,000-seat convention centre and an Olympic-size swimming pool,” Moir wrote. “A two-storey structure in the complex was also to house a curling rink, indoor tennis courts, an archery range, a roller skating rink, a shooting gallery and facilities for minor hockey, figure skating, bingo and a dance floor for teenagers.

“Exactly one year later, in the midst of a hard fought city election, Keystone was in serious financial trouble and all the candidates were coming up with various solutions to its difficulties.”

While Mayor Bill Wilton won the day with his pledge of a scaled-down $2.1-million project, the agreement that was finally reached allowed for the construction of the major part of the original plan, leaving out the swimming pool, 10 sheets of curling ice, as well as the archery and shooting ranges and some storage and office space. Total cost, $4,738,000 — or $33,207,561 in today’s currency when adjusted for inflation.

But it was Moir’s prophetic concerns over ongoing financial problems for the facility that have echoed throughout the last 50 years.

“Even in the last months, the fighting has continued over Keystone’s operating deficit, which is shared equally by the city and the province,” he wrote in 1973.

In the years that have followed, there have been several updates and changes made to the facility, most notably the addition of the Agricultural Centre of Excellence to its northern flank. Millions have been spent in repairs over the years, including to the facility’s roof nearly a decade ago. But at the heart of it all has been the continued and necessary hand-wringing over the Keystone Centre’s financial stability, and the need for stable and predictable funding from the province and the City of Brandon.

A year ago, the city and the province announced a new five-year deal in which the two partners would each pay nearly $8 million in capital and operating funds to the Keystone Centre. Meanwhile, the city would continue to grant an additional payment equal to the property taxes paid by Canad Inns, which was $120,000 in 2022.

But only just this past January, the facility still reported a net operating loss of $1.128 million. The financial report stated that the Keystone Centre generated $5.249 million in net revenue from operations, but operating expenses — including rising costs of natural gas and insurance — amounted to $7.134 million. The operating grant funding from the city and the province helped cushion the financial blow to the tune of $760,400, but the centre is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Keystone Centre chair Bruce Luebke. Industry experts have suggested a five-year timeline for a full recovery.

As difficult as it may be to battle chronic deficits and issues of aging assets for a facility this large, the Keystone Centre remains one of the premier facilities of its kind in the country — a gift to our community that has kept on giving throughout the decades.

In celebrating 50 years in operation, the Keystone’s board of directors has asked the public to help define what the next 50 years might look like for this expensive Prairie gem. As Wednesday’s press release noted, “a plan is needed for the aging buildings that leverages infrastructure investment with the needs of the community, while ensuring fiscal responsibility.”

The ongoing Site Master Planning process for the site and facilities is to look at the potential for all development and future considerations, with an eye to developing a “comprehensive approach to long-term solutions and recommendations.”

There is clearly a financial cost to taxpayers in keeping this facility operating. And while we should also look to its administration to aim for self-sustaining financial stability, it’s important to remember that both our community and our region are far stronger having this facility within our midst.

Our goal as a community should be to preserve the best aspects of the Keystone Centre, with an eye toward the need for future development and redevelopment. While we have little doubt the politicking and internal squabbling surrounding its future will begin anew at such a 50-year milestone, now is as good a time as ever to start having this necessary public conversation.