An advocate for curling in the City of Windsor fears a 6-8 per cent increase in user fees could discourage curlers from coming back to municipal facilities.
Curlers were displaced from the Capri Recreation Centre this year to create more ice time for hockey after a fire at the WFCU Centre.
"There's no doubt that the concern about bringing curlers back to the Capri is going to be a challenge," said resident Terry Fink.
Some curlers have spent the season at Beach Grove Golf and Country Club or facilities in Leamington.
"From a marketing standpoint and a retrieval to bring your population back to an activity, if there's an economic barrier, that's going to be the first barrier," said Fink.
Fink believes a 1 to 2 per cent increase would be more reasonable, not just for curlers but for all recreation activities.
For curlers, the increases represent around $30 for league registration or $11.25 for a two hour ice rental.
The 2026 budget proposes user fee increases for all ice users, aquatics and other community programming.
