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MRC Updates FAQ

More information on the July 28, 2025 Policy and Programming Changes

Section 1: Pricing Changes

Why do we need to increase pricing?

  1. Increasing costs: Costs across the board have been increasing. For MRC, this means from services like plowing and IT, as well as tangible items like fuel, supplies, equipment, and more.

  2. Make MRC a great place to work: We just completed a major compensation review for our staff, expanded health care coverage and improved our paid time-off policy. These changes are crucial if we want MRC to attract top talent, ensuring an awesome experience for you, our customers.

  3. Continue to subsidize programming: In the 2024-2025 season, we subsidized over $100k in programming and gear for programs like Tennis for Fun, Learn to Play Hockey, Red Ball tennis, and STEP (Skating and Tennis Education Program). We’d like to further expand some of these offerings this year and going forward.

  4. Expand financial assistance: We are working to expand the reach of MRC to a broader population which means expanding our financial assistance program. As a community organization, we want everyone to be able to play at MRC - this is a key tenet for our mission to build community and promote healthy living.

  5. Ensure our ability to cover depreciating assets and capital expenses: Every year, we aim to save a portion of our funds in order to pay for the ongoing depreciation / capital improvements necessary to keep a large, complex facility like MRC in good shape. Examples of these major depreciating assets include our HVAC system, our ice making systems, the roof, etc.  If we are doing this correctly, we will be able to cover these costs as they arise.

Do the price increases have anything to do with the construction and expansion currently happening at MRC?

No. The building expansion is being funded through a capital campaign called MRC’s Campaign for a Healthy Future. This is a $5.5M campaign that is raising capital completely outside of the operating budget. These pricing changes would have needed to happen regardless of our expansion.

How do we determine which prices to raise and by how much?

As we think about our pricing philosophy, we follow these principles:

  • Market competitive rates: We looked at other sports facilities, both non-profit and for-profit, all around Maine. Currently, we are very far below market in most categories. We’re aiming to move closer to the bottom end of market competitive rates. 

  • Incremental changes: We are sensitive to sudden big jumps in pricing, so we aim to keep rate increases manageable. 

  • Keep youth programs affordable: We strive to keep youth programs as affordable as possible, meaning that increases to youth programs will generally be smaller than those for adult programs.

  • Continue subsidizing entry-level programs: We continue to subsidize many of our entry-level programs to make the barrier to entry as low as possible for anyone to try a sport, like Learn to Play Hockey, Red Ball Tennis, and Learn to Play pickleball.

What are the new program prices?

Since we have so many programs, the easiest way to view the pricing for a specific program will be through the registration pages.

What are the new drop-in rates?

Public Skate prices are actually going down, as we are offering discounts for different age groups:

Adult: $8

  • Little Kids (5 and under): free

  • Children (6-13): $6 

  • Seniors (60+): $6

Skate rentals remain at $5

What are the new facility rental rates?

Beginning September 1, 2025, our rates for renting a facility move to the following:

  • Indoor Tennis Court: $44/hour

  • Golf Bay: $38/hour

  • Arena Rental: $280/hour

  • (New pickleball courts, when the building opens: $24/hour)

What are the new lesson rates?

Private and semi-private lessons are available for all sports, and we are looking to bring back Personal Training as well.

  • Tennis and Pickleball Rates (for 1 hour lesson)

2025 Tennis & Pickleball Rates.png

  • Golf (for 1 hour lesson)

2025 Golf Rates.png

  • Hockey (for 1 hour lesson)

2025 Hockey Rates.png

  • Figure skating lessons will continue to be coordinated directly with the figure skating instructors.

Section 2: Membership Changes

What is happening to current “MRC membership” members?

  1. Current MRC memberships holders who pay $30/month ($20/month for Rockport residents) currently receive the following benefits:

    • fitness center access 

    • unlimited public skate

    • free weekend tennis court rentals, and 

    • free pickleball open play on the weekends. 

  2. These “MRC membership” benefits will be slightly adjusted, but comparable, and will be active through the end of 2025. The updated benefits are: 

    • fitness center access 

    • unlimited public skate

    • 2 hours of court rentals per month (any day, tennis or pickleball), and 

    • free pickleball open play on weekends 

  3. Starting 2026, we will offer more sport-specific memberships. If you are still a member in December, we will be reaching out to see if you want to transition seamlessly to the new “Fitness Membership” or if you want to cancel your membership.

Can I still sign up for the current “MRC membership”?

No, this is no longer available - we will not be accepting any new members for the current “MRC membership.” We are moving to more sport-specific memberships in 2026, so in preparation, we are not accepting any new sign-ups for this membership.

What is the new membership offering starting August 2025?

  1. The new “Fitness membership” has the following benefits:

    • fitness center access

    • unlimited public skate

    • 25% discount on Learn to Play/Skate (e.g. beginner or level 1) programs

  2. We are offering different packages:

    • Individual: $30/month ($20/month for Rockport residents)

    • Families (up to 2 adults plus kids under 18 in the same household): $75/month ($55 for Rockport residents)

What will happen in January 2026?

We will introduce sport-specific memberships (e.g. a tennis membership or a pickleball membership) which will be a great option for frequent players of a specific sport.

MRC Updates FAQ Software Changes Anchor

Section 3: Software Changes

Why are we changing software systems?

  1. Currently we use 4 different systems to manage your customer experience:

    • Daxko for program registrations

    • YourCourts for managing court schedule

    • Acuity Scheduling for golf bookings and schedule

    • SmartWaiver + paper waivers for tracking waivers

  2. We are consolidating this experience so that customers can:

    • Manage all of their programs, rentals, and lessons in one place,

    • Book courts and golf bays directly from the website or mobile app without needing to call us.

  3. This software consolidation helps us provide improved customer service and reduces the time spent on administrative translation between the systems. We will also be consolidating data so that we can easily send customers notifications about the sports and activities that they are interested in

What software will we be moving to?

After completing a comprehensive evaluation of various facility and membership management systems, we have chosen CourtReserve. CourtReserve is a system that is being used by many sports facilities because it has a robust system for managing memberships and all types of sports facilities (rinks, pools, fields, courts, work-out rooms, etc.). This system will come with an easy-to-use MRC app (on App Store and Google Play Store) where you can book a court or register for a program with just a few taps.

What does this transition process look like for customers?

  1. Programs and court rentals from now through the end of August 2025 will still be managed and reserved in the same way that they currently are.

  2. Programs, court rentals, and lessons that start on or after September 2025 will be managed through CourtReserve. This means that CourtReserve will be available in early August for customers to begin registering for September programs.

We know that a transition like this will have a few hiccups, and we are working hard to complete all the necessary prep work to make it as smooth as possible. Please be patient with our front desk staff during this transition period!

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