City of Durango expecting a jump in Chapman Hill's revenue

by Garrett Andrews
Herald Staff Writer

Article Last Updated; Monday, October 26, 2009 1:15AM

Chapman prices

Tow-rope ticket prices for Chapman Hill:
► Children 3 and younger, free
► Children 4-17, $4
► Adults 18 and older, $6

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Last winter was Chapman Hill’s best. Nearly 1,000 people bought tow-rope tickets, and many more used the facility but chose to hike their own way, said director of Parks and Recreation Cathy Metz.

Revenue for 2008 was $4,610, which included tow-rope ticket receipts, lessons and special program fees. Costs to operate Chapman Hill came from the city’s general fund, $25,290 in all, going to lift operator and instructor salaries and maintenance of the property.

This winter, the city is planning a “robust” season at Chapman Hill because of the new snowmaking capabilities. Budgeted expenses increased in the 2010 budget with the addition of a snow groomer and snow guns. Metz expects the new equipment to transform the hill.

“It will make for much more reliable conditions,” she said.

Her department has budgeted $36,168 in expenses at Chapman Hill, and is expecting to bring in $27,750 in revenue this winter. Two Parks and Recreation employees will be needed on an average snowmaking day, which drives up expenses, but Metz hopes the facility will bring in six times the amount of revenue this year compared to last.

She cites the Chapman Hill ice rink as proof this is possible. The rink didn’t always have a chiller, which led to unreliable conditions. But purchasing the chiller, she said, led to a huge surge in use of the facility.

“Now we’re at 100 percent cost-recovery,” she said of the ice rink.

Monday, October 26, 2009
at 9:53:15 AM

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Andrew Griffith says...

Excavating terrain park features during the summer would serve a "double bonus" of sorts. The first and most obvious being that you only need 2 ft or so of man-made or natural snow to complete the feature - once features are complete I coach (for the DWSF)a lot of kids and know a ton more that would pay just to hike a good pipe and good terrain jumps - just turn on the lights and some music, in addition to other people who buy tow tickets to access the features. Finally, the "excavated" features would be yet another wonderful option for mountain bikers in during the warmer months - providing the same table tops and even pipe!
Monday, October 26, 2009
at 8:29:42 AM

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Bo Griswold says...

Durango needs to worry about city ammenities that will ultimately bring in more revenue. Since Chapman is situated perfectly for the Fort Lewis College students, why not market towards them? If Durango were to put a "super pipe" where chapman is, the college attendance would increase 10-15% Not only would the college see more students, Chapman could sell season tickets to the super pipe and gather a lot more revenue. It would not cost much at all, pretty much just the cost for excavating the pipe. Let's make this a destination spot for college students! This is where the money is.
Monday, October 26, 2009
at 8:23:44 AM

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RS says...

I will be trying Chapmann Hill for the first time this year to check out the man made snow.
Monday, October 26, 2009
at 7:51:19 AM

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Tim says...

Many people who pay to use the ice rink have concerns that the rink is paying the way for the expansion of the ski hill. It would be interesting to pose this concern to Ms. Metz and see what data exists that shows revenue generated by the ice rink verses the revenue generated by the ski hill. Obviously, there is a big cost in keeping the rink refridgerated and staffed but if you look at the amount of Durangoans walking around the facility during most times, they are paying skaters.