WINNIPEG -- Many recreation and community centres across Manitoba have sat mostly empty throughout the pandemic.

Now, they’re facing the financial fallout from lost revenue and are trying to find ways to pay the bills.

Ginger Collins, a director and secretary-treasurer with the Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex who heads up its fundraising committee, said the community is holding a ‘Mound of Cash’ lottery to try and recoup some of the revenue lost during the pandemic.

Public health measures restricting recreational activity and public gatherings have the centre expecting at least a $50,000 loss of annual revenue from ice rentals.

It’s also missing out on revenue from the canteen, curling rink and 100-seat movie theatre which are all part of the complex.

“We have a yearly mortgage payment that we have to make. We have a $58,000 hydro bill annually, Zamboni payments — those payments that are coming regularly,” said Collins. 

Pilot Mound isn’t alone; the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres said the impact will vary among the city’s 63 centres.

The council said for centres with mortgages, the impact will be significant. For others, the drop in revenue came with a decrease in expenses.

Michele Augert, CEO of Dakota Community Centre, said the closures have had an impact on the centre’s revenue.

“There’s no doubt it, we’re going to have some significant losses,” said Augert. “Obviously, most of what we do here is revenue-based. We do get a small percentage of our funding from the City of Winnipeg for some operations. Most of what we bring in delivering our services and renting the facility goes to paying for the costs of the facility.

“We have diverse revenue streams into a community centre such as Dakota and one this large. That all of the streams would be shut down at one time was unthinkable and unimaginable.”

Augert said utility bills, maintenance and equipment leases are among the expenses that never went away during the pandemic.

A motion passed March 10 by the city’s standing policy committee on protection, community services and parks calls for the public service to work with community centres on an economic recovery plan.

Normally, Pilot Mound hosts a community auction every two years which usually brings in around $70,000 but even that had to be cancelled.

While it has received some relief funding from municipal, provincial and federal programs, it decided to hold a lottery to help cover costs.

“It’s really something that we haven’t done for a long time,” said Collins. “The chance is to make, if we sell out, about $58,000.”

The community is also running a 50/50 draw in conjunction with the lottery and hopes to net an additional $10,000.

The draw date for the lottery is March 17 and Collins said last-minute lottery tickets can be purchased Wednesday until 6:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Pilot Mound Millennium Volunteers Facebook page.