Mile One 'working pretty well' despite losses: Wells

Further losses have been posted for a St. John's sports and convention centre, although the city's mayor insists Mile One is no white elephant.

St. John's Sports and Entertainment, the city-owned corporation that manages Mile One Centre and a nearby convention centre, said losses for the most recent fiscal year came in at nearly $640,000.

That follows a council decision a year ago to increase an annual subsidy to $1.5 million, from $1 million.

Wells told Monday evening's council meeting that the stadium's per-patron subsidy is acceptable compared to other recreation expenses.

"Actually, I think it's cheaper than Mundy Pond and a little bit more expensive than Wedgewood Park," said Wells, referring to two recreation complexes owned by the city.

"It's well in the mix, so this is not contrary to what some people are saying this is not a major drain on the taxpayers of St. John's. It's working pretty well."

Mile One, which opened in 2001, was built largely to house the St. John's Maple Leafs, the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Leafs later transferred that team to Toronto.

Ticket sales for the St. John's Fog Devils, a new team playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, have been so sluggish that team president Brad Dobbin told CBC News last week that the team cannot survive if it continues to lose substantial sums of money.

Coun. Frank Galgay said at Monday's meeting that the council should "explore the possibility" of turning Mile One over to private hands.

Wells fired back at Galgay before he finished his argument. "You don't think a lot, do you?" Wells yelled at Galgay.

"We would get the same services in private hands," Galgay replied.

Wells, though, said that Galgay had put no thought into the concept of privatizing the stadium.