The District of Houston is eliminating admission fees for arena drop-in programs starting this January.
Previously drop-in programs charged $2 to $3 admission and had skate monitors at the arena to collect the fee. Now, there will be no admission charges or skate monitors.
“This is something MacKenzie did when their mills shut down. It’s just to keep people out there and active,” said Councillor Michalle Jolly.
Ryan Coltura, Director of Leisure Services, said this also saves the District of Houston money.
“We’re eliminating the need to staff the program. We’ve collected approximately $2,100 in admission revenue, but paid $3,200 [in wages for people] to collect that money,” he said.
Staff will also seek annual sponsors for public skating programs to generate more revenue, said Houston CAO Linda Poznikoff.