Twin Cities Curling Association

Curlers eye western suburbs for future expansion
By Daniel Huss

See link at:
http://www.edenprairienews.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=9&ArticleID=5039

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

According to Mapquest, the distance between Eden Prairie's city hall and the St. Paul Curling Club is 23.66 miles. The estimated travel time is 30 minutes. Rush hour presents its own set of problems, as do nights when the Minnesota Wild play.

That said, west metro curlers go to a lot trouble to feed their curling appetites, so much so that they're trying to open their own facility.

Loosely organized as the Twin Cities Curling Association – incorporating themselves as a non-profit is one of their top priorities – "organizers" have set 2005 as the target date for opening their own club.

With the St. Paul Curling Club being the metro area's only curling venue, Twin Cities Curling Association founders believe there's more than enough curlers in the Twin Cities area to support two such clubs.

A recent survey of St. Paul Curling Club members supports this same notion.

"Winnipeg, an area similar in size to Minneapolis, has 20 clubs," said Eden Prairie's Neil Marriott, vice president, Twin Cities Curling Association. "The Twin Cities only has one."

Acknowledging curling's Canadian roots, Marriott said not all curlers come from Canada. Ken Olson, president of the Twin Cities Curling Association, says the same thing.

"People who've never played the game are giving it a try," said Olson.

Marriott adds that an NBC rebroadcast of an Olympic event had higher ratings than an NHL game. "The time is ripe," he said.

Opportunistic

Insisting that plans for opening a curling club in the western suburbs would still be moving forward, dreams for such a facility became a little less fuzzy after Olson obtained an ice plant from a defunct operation in Denver.

"The original plan was to set it up in Utah, to get ready for the Olympics," said Olson, "When that didn't happen, they said we could have it for the cost of shipping."

The cost of such a plant is valued at $100,000.

Weighing the costs of building new vs. redeveloping, Olson said both options are on the table.

"A new building," he estimated, "would require a million dollar capital investment."

Olson added that partnering with either a city or golf course is also a possibility.

"We can be more specific," he said, "once we complete our business plan."

With few new clubs to model themselves after, Olson said researching operating and capital costs has been difficult.

What he does know is that they'd prefer to operate a four-sheet facility, with each sheet being roughly 14 feet wide by 150 feet long. Plus, they'd need an enclosed clubhouse area.

Passionate

According to a recent survey, St. Paul Curling Club members curl in, on average, 1.3 leagues per week. To no one's surprise, the participation rate for east metro area curlers is higher than it is west metro area curlers, 1.8 leagues per week vs. one league per week.

"It's all about opportunity," said Marriott.

Currently, the St. Paul Curling Club is operating at or above capacity; they've even had to turn away new members.

"It's full from 4 to midnight," said Marriott.

Marriott adds that he guesses 1/3 of the St. Paul Club's consists of Canadian transplants.

"Each year," he said, "they lose 10 percent of the membership, but gain back 15 to 20 percent."

When asked to explain, he mentioned the cost of participation.

"You can get started," he said, "for $40 to 50. All you really need is a slider and broom."

Although curling has its own terminology – rocks (42-pound pieces of granite), house (ring), bonspiel (tournament), et al. – the game is rather simple. The team that throws its rocks closest to the center of the ring wins.

That said, there's more strategy than you care to shake… a broom at.

"It's a game everyone can play," said Marriott.

Olson, who plays on a multi-generational team with both his father and son, agreed.

"I've seen people as old as 92 play," he adds, "and young as six."

Soon, he hopes, he'll witness a game here in the western suburbs.

"That's the plan," he said.

For more information, visit twincitiescurling.org.

Dhuss@swpub.com is Daniel Huss' e-mail address. He can also be reached at 345-4676.