Funding crunch: How leisure centres can keep their doors open for communities

Leisure centres offer a vital community service, but many publicly owned facilities are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their impact and to come up with new ways to boost revenue and reduce costs.

In New Zealand, many councils are about to release their long-term plans for public consultation. With money short and a well-publicised infrastructure deficit making media headlines, some council budgets are proposing funding cuts for recreation, including reduced operating hours for aquatic centres in some areas.

We caught up with Tracey Prince-Puketapu, General Manager of Operations at Recreation Aotearoa, to get her thoughts on the challenge ahead and some of the options leisure centres might have to keep the doors open for their communities.

The challenge many New Zealand councils are facing

“At the moment councils have significant financial constraints and are having to make challenging choices particularly around investment in infrastructure like pipes. Many Councils are reviewing the level of service provided at community facilities as a way to balance the books” Tracey says.

“Many aquatic centres are finding it hard to find staff too, and that’s not just a New Zealand problem. In the UK and USA many pools are also having to consider reduced opening hours for staffing reasons.”

Tracey says funding decisions are being made by councils at a time when attendance at some aquatic centres is falling because of the rising cost of living. The conclusion some councils are arriving at is that reducing operating hours is the only way forward.

So, what can leisure centres do about it?

Engage new segments of the community

Generating more revenue always helps and one of the brightest hopes pools have in this regard comes from listening to their communities and creating new programmes or events to meet their needs.

Tracey points to the ‘Women Friendly Wednesday’ initiative at Te Pou Toutou Linwood Pool in Christchurch as a prime example of this thinking in action. The weekly event sees a private area of the pool closed off from 3-9pm each Wednesday for use by women who want to enjoy fitness classes, lane swimming and other activities. Tracey says the event is proving popular, including with many Muslim women who value a female-only for cultural reasons.

In addition to bringing in additional revenue to help keep the pool operating, the initiative has engaged a new group of people who now value the pool and who may become outspoken champions for it in future.

“Boosting attendance by engaging with groups that wouldn’t otherwise come through your facility is one thing aquatic centres can realistically do,” Tracey says.

Encourage pool use outside peak times

Aquatic centres experience spikes and lulls in attendance at different times of the day. During a typical day during the working week there’s the morning crowd, school children in the summer months, and the after-school and evening rush. Between these times there are slower periods when an aquatic centre is less well utilised.

Tracey says some leisure centres – particularly those in urban areas – may be able to promote better use of their pools during the quiet times.

For example, with more people working from home and flexible working hours becoming more common, there could be an opportunity to encourage more use an aquatic centre during the traditional 9-5 day.

“It may be possible to encourage some of those people who are working from home, and who traditionally swim before or after work, to consider swimming at lunch instead.”

School use of facilities sometimes creates pressure due to the number of children coming through simultaneously. Staff at indoor pools could consider talking with local schools to see whether a winter swimming programme might be an option, rather than a condensed summer swimming programme in terms 3 and 4, as is often the case in New Zealand.

Are higher ticket prices an option?

While council-owned leisure centres can’t usually apply for community funding, another option some have is increasing their ticket prices. However, this can be a fraught business because many leisure centres are already subsidised by rates, Tracey says.

“Most public pools are rate payer subsidised with operating budgets topped up by the fee people pay to visit.”

The ‘cost of living crisis’ many New Zealanders are grappling with means many people are more price-sensitive than usual at the moment. As a result, attendance at fitness classes and learn to swim class is already falling at some leisure centres, even at existing pricing levels, Tracey says.

“Fitness memberships and learn to swim classes are discretionary items and unfortunately they are sometimes the first to go when people are short on money.”

While leisure centres in some parts of New Zealand might still be able to adjust their pricing to some degree, they need to consider it carefully, Tracey says.

“Will a family with two or three children still be able to afford to visit on the weekend, or will a three time a week swimmer reduce their visits to two if prices change?”

Could other operating expenses be adjusted?

While many council budgets are proposing reduced operating hours as a solution to the cost-crunch, there may be some options, Tracey says.

But she concedes they are easier said than done.

“I don’t think every rate payer understands how much it costs to operate an aquatic centre.

“Along with staff costs, energy costs are the other big thing.”

New builds could reduce their energy costs by being designed in energy efficient ways and making use of technology like solar panels. However, that is a more challenging proposition for existing leisure centres.

“For existing facilities it is hard to future proof and reduce your energy costs by introducing new systems without a capital spend. That said, investing in more energy efficient systems can reduce ongoing operating costs and create longer term savings,” she says.

Data and measurement are your ally

Measurement and data gathering is another important piece of the puzzle for leisure centre managers or council officers wanting to demonstrate their facility’s value or make smart decisions.
“Data is important because it helps council officers have informed discussions with councillors,” Tracey says.

“It can help show the value being provided or if councils are thinking about whether to reduce hours, having data that shows when you’re normally busy and when you’re not can support decisions about what closure times will have the least impact on the community.”

Data can also be used to make more informed decisions around pricing, or to gain insights into how an aquatic centre’s electricity spend stacks up against similar facilities.

Xyst provides benchmarking services used in New Zealand for leisure and recreation spaces and places. The data captured from these benchmarking tools provides useful decision-making information, Tracey says.

Similarly, attendance data gathered by leisure management software such as Jonas Leisure’s Envibe platform can uncover trends or help aquatic centre staff make a case to funding decisionmakers.