The leisure services department will try to staunch the financial bleeding at the Uniplex concession next season.

“The fact that we have been doing it internally for as long as the Uniplex has been open, for our staff and the community it would be really nice to continue to do it ourselves,” director Mike Ulriksen said.

Humboldt is the only municipality he knows of that operates a concession in an arena - in most communities it’s run by a board of volunteers or a third party, he said.

The rising costs of labour and food, among other factors, means he estimates the operation will lose $30,000 to $40,000 this year, he said.

The department aims to reduce staffing costs by not opening during events that don’t bring enough business to make a profit, he said.

They also plan to raise prices on certain items and review both the menu and the Hot Lunch Program.

He hopes those tweaks will be enough to demonstrate a viable business model. A report is to be submitted to Executive Committee by next June.