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Pool’s out for summer: Weather chills attendance
By: JIM HAMMERAND, Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, September 11, 2009 11:19 pm
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NORTHFIELD — Cool weather drove attendance at the municipal pool down by about a quarter this swimming season, according to a figures to be released Tuesday night.

But revenues, boosted by fee increases, held steady, and Recreation Manager Jason Eisold said he expected the enterprise to break even when the final figures are tallied.

Between June 6 and Aug. 23, 28,145 people passed through the pool’s gates, according to a city memo, a decrease of 26.5 percent from 2008.

The pool saw 70 customers or fewer on 14 of the season’s 79 days, and closed for seven.

The pool made about $122,000 in gate sales, Eisold estimated, and another $8,000 in additional revenue. Year-to-date expenses are $130,000, he said.

“We should be pretty close to breaking even,” he said, noting a final accounting of the season’s finances wouldn’t be available until October.

Eisold, scheduled to present the figures to the Park and Recreation Advisory Board Tuesday night, blamed an unseasonably cool summer for the attendance decline.





“Weather was the huge culprit,” he said. “It was so cold in June, we had that wet period in July and then it cooled off again (in August).”

According to data from the State Climatology Office, temperatures in those months were below normal in Faribault, the office’s only observation point in Rice County.

The average recorded temperature was 2.5 degrees cooler than normal in June, 4.6 degrees cooler in July and 1.7 degrees cooler in August.

“A two-degree departure is noticeable, as the pool attendance indicates,” said Department of Natural Resources climatologist Greg Spoden. July’s diversion from normal temperatures was “substantial,” he said, ranking it the third coldest July in modern recorded history.

“A 90-degree day, I’m sure, sends people off to the pool and we never got there,” Spoden said. “In fact, we never got very close.”

Spoden said the cool summer can be blamed on the jet stream, which persistently pulled cool air from the Canadian prairies to the northwest through Minnesota.

BY THE NUMBERS

2009: 28,145 visitors (-26.4 percent from prior year), 1,882 season passes purchased (-4.6 percent)

2008: 38,267 visitors (+5.3 percent), 1,972 season passes (+30.4 percent)

2007: 36,335 visitors, 1,512 season passes

Pool closures: There were 14 days of “low attendance” (70 or fewer patrons) this season, including seven days of closure. Last season, there were only two low attendance days, and six such days in 2007.


— Jim Hammerand covers the city. He can be reached at jhammerand@northfieldnews.com or 645-1114.
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Member Opinions:
By: MrJST on 9/13/09
It is important to realize though, that many residents purchase a season pass at the beginning of the season, and that revenue is a one time revenue, regardless of the weather.

Although there was a 26.4 percent drop in seasonal attendance, there was only a 4.6 percent drop in season pass sales. This comes off a stunning year of nearly 2000 season passes.

It was a very cool season, but having the pool when it was nice out is wonderful.

Thanks to the staff for a great season!

By: NattieReads on 9/14/09
Want more people to go to the pool? How about making it affordable~!

By: stnielsen on 9/15/09
It's unfortunate the City closed the pool on 8/23! I realize that pool staff heads back to college and school sports/activities, but maybe in future years the City could consider hiring temporary staff through Labor Day. Late August/early September weather tends to very warm and the majority of the kids' activities have ended. What a great way to end the summer!

 
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