Last Wednesday Keystone Centre General Manager Neil Thomson and Wheat Kings’ Owner and General Manager Kelly McCrimmon held a press conference to announce the details of the new five-year lease between the team and arena.
“Since the last renewal, 15 years ago, the environment has become a lot more challenging,” said Thomson.
“We are very happy to have found an agreement that will provide some significant revenue generation for the facility, which will allow us to make bigger investments to be shared by all our users.”
The deal comes after months of negotiations, and just in time as the previous fifteen-year agreement was set to expire at the end of May.
“As a key tenant to the facility, the Wheat Kings attract many fans and bring a high profile and awareness for the City of Brandon across Canada,” said Thomson.
“They have delivered many successful seasons to fans in Manitoba, and I believe they have more wins in the last 15 years than any other junior team. We look forward to the future and working with Kelly (McCrimmon) and the Wheat Kings.”
While financial terms of the new agreement were not disclosed, both Thomson and Kelly said they will work together to improve the experience for fans.
“As owner of the Wheat Kings, I run a business. That business just happens to be hockey,” said McCrimmon.
“The Wheat Kings have a big impact on the city’s economy, generating $12-$14 million annually.
Lots of businesses in Brandon make money because of our business. While the Wheat Kings are paying more under the terms of the new lease, from our perspective we are trading off higher rent for a few different factors.”
“The Keystone Centre is a big economic driver in Brandon and all of south western Manitoba,” said Thomson.
“Investments in the facility, note that I said investments, not tax dollars, are key to ensuring the facility can continue to contribute to the economy.”
“One objective was to protect customers from additional fees,” continued McCrimmon.
“The Keystone was justifiably considering a facility fee or user fee, which we successfully fought hard to resist. As well we have been able to cap Ticketmaster fees for five years, and there will be no paid parking over the term of the agreement, something I have been asked about many times. We felt strongly that these additional fees would not work for our fanbase, so we absorbed the costs into our own business.”
The new agreement does not only protect the fans of the team, it also leaves the Wheat Kings with room to grow. “This lease provides us with an opportunity to grow our business,” said McCrimmon.
“We have outgrown our current space in all aspects, from office space to dressing rooms to practice space. To continue to maintain player experience and development, we need to grow, and this lease gives us that opportunity.” Over the last 15 year agreement, virtually no improvements were made to the main arena except for the preparations for the Memorial Cup. As a result, McCrimmon says the Wheat Kings have fallen behind in the WHL in terms of arena lighting, sound, and seating. “It is imperative that these issues be addressed,” said McCrimmon. “And now with the new lease there is a shared understanding of this. Upgrading the arena will become a front-burner issue.” Immediately following the announcement of the lease extension, the Wheat Kings unveiled their season ticket pricing for the 2012-2013 season.
While pricing will be going up slightly, the club maintains their business model of offering the most affordable ticket prices in the WHL.  Regular adult season ticket prices will be $425, which equates to single-game ticket prices of slightly more than $12 per game, and for the first time in seven years, the Wheat Kings are offering senior season ticket pricing available for $375, while youth season ticket pricing will cost $200. To help offset the increase in price, fans that order and pay for their season tickets prior to June 15 will qualify for the Early Bird discount of $25. “There is no one-size-fits-all in terms of a lease agreement,” said McCrimmon in closing.
“Both parties are pleased and satisfied to be working ahead to the future. Onward and upward, the next five years will be extremely important.”