This e-mail is to advise you of a layout change that staff have made to the restaurant at the Sleeman Centre; a decision made in partnership with the Guelph Storm.
Background:
Upon opening this facility, the original layout of the restaurant was for tables along the windows that are directly face the ice rink to be perpendicular to the windows and ice surface. At some point in recent years, the previous restaurant coordinator made the decision to alter the layout and turn some of the tables so that they were parallel to the ice surface. This reduced by 50%, the number of available window seats in this prominent section of the restaurant.
For the 2011 + Season: Business Decision to increase Revenues
In cooperation with the Guelph Storm, Sleeman Centre staff have made the decision to restore the restaurant layout to the original design.
This decision has been made to both increase the City’s revenue in the restaurant, and for the Guelph Storm, as it will increase the number of ‘high demand’ seats that are available facing the ice.
The attached diagram shows the layout that has been used in previous years, and the original design that will be restored prior to the start of the 2011/2012 hockey season. On both diagrams, the tables for this particular patron have been circled in yellow.
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The tickets for the window seats in the restaurant are sold as season tickets through the Guelph Storm office. The tickets are sold on an annual basis, with no long term contract for particular seats. The Guelph Storm currently has a waiting list for seats along the windows in the restaurant, and are fully supportive of the change in layout in order to maximize ticket sales.
Change Management: Patron Concern
One of the patrons who has historically purchased the seats for the centre two tables has raised concerns about this decision, however in the interests of maximizing revenue and restoring the restaurant to its original design, staff have agreed with the Guelph Storm management to proceed with the change in layout.
The patron has been offered the opportunity to still purchase the centre two prime tables – it is only the orientation of those two tables that will change.
Further Information on Chamber/Storm/Sleeman working together
As a secondary unrelated update on Sleeman Centre, staff have been involved in meetings with Guelph Storm management staff and Lloyd Longfield from the Chamber of Commerce to develop a strategy for increasing suite sales for next season, thereby increasing suite revenue. The new initiative will be launched in the coming months, in time for new suite bookings to be confirmed prior to the September launch of the hockey season. Staff