At a special meeting of City Council on Monday, May 8, Humboldt City Council received a recommendation to adopt a new three-year lease agreement with the Humboldt Bronco Hockey Club. 


The Humboldt Bronco Hockey Club has been a long-term leaseholder of the Uniplex, and the Club’s most recent lease ran from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2023. 


In 2017, the City and the Broncos agreed to move away from a per-game rental fee in favour of a commission-based option set to 12% of all ticket sales. 


Since 2017, the City has not changed the percentage and says in a release that, “Due to significant cost increases of the facility in the last few years, primarily related to utilities, insurance, and staffing, the 12% commission fee has not kept up proportionally.”


With the increases of the facility in mind, the City proposed the following commission fee increase:

 

  • 2023/23 13% (8.3% increase)
  • 2024/25 14% (7.7% increase) 
  • 2025/26 15% (7.1% increase)

By the end of the three-year lease agreement, the change from a 12% fee to a 15% commission fee will result in a 25% increase in the annual lease revenue from the Club. 


“The only other major change to the agreement that we put in place was that we have provided provision by which the Club is able to book additional facility rental space at the Uniplex at a 50% discount off the posted rates,” said Michael Ulriksen, Director of Community and Leisure Services. 


Council passed the recommendation, with the new Lease Agreement starting May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2026.