It appears highly unlikely that the City of St. John’s will divest itself of a very costly piece of infrastructure anytime soon.

The city has increased the subsidy to St. John’s Sports and Entertainment this coming year by almost a million dollars, pushing the annual financial aid package to about $6-million.

Finance Chair Ron Ellsworth says the Mary Brown’s Centre and the St. John’s Convention Centre are just like other recreational facilities—they cost money to run.

Hockey team owner Dean MacDonald is interested in buying the facilities but the city has never really explored that option or anything similar.

Councillor Ellsworth says the restructuring of St. John’s Sports and Entertainment is complete, so the one piece left is the revenue problem.

He notes that operating facilities such as the Paul Reynolds Centre and Kenmount Terrace provide programs and services to residents and community.