Lori Medlin, president and CEO of the bureau, stressed to council the agency was not booking shows but marketing the venue as a place which can be rented. There is a new logo and new slogan for the venue, “Our theater, your opportunity.”
The website has been updated and a name change for the venue was considered but not followed through with, Medlin told council at its work session.
One of the things that is being done is advertising for which the bureau is paying $8,000 from funds it receives through the occupancy tax. The theater is being advertised in Pollstar, Encore — a digital weekly publication — Celebrity Access and Small Market Meetings.
The sign off Interstate 95 at the theater has been turned back on and is advertising the December 10 North Carolina Symphony performance. “That's a great opportunity for sponsors,” Medlin said.
Shows that are tour bus friendly will be advertised on Visit NC and the theater will be promoted on digital billboards in Smithfield and Rocky Mount.
Councilman Ed Liverman asked Medlin to explain the role the bureau and the city's recreation department is taking in the theater, to thwart charges the city is back in the theater business.
Explained Medlin, “We are not actively recruiting entertainment. We are letting people know it's available.”
What that means, she said, is he city will not be paying acts to come, but those who wish to use the venue would book it through the recreation department.
Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon told council the city has regained control of the theater's Facebook page and thus far has a swing dance scheduled for December 3, the symphony in December and a group which wants to rent the VIP rooms for a Christmas party.
Meanwhile, council is expected to adopt a resolution at its regular meeting next Tuesday at 7 p.m. to declare nearly $14,000 worth of unneeded equipment at the venue as surplus property so bids can be received. The items are mainly lighting fixtures, a cable wall, a headset microphone and in-ear monitors.
Mayor Emery Doughtie said he was appreciative of the reports. “It's here. It's an issue for all of us. The way to make it positive is for everyone to work together. Hopefully we're moving in the right direction.”
comments
As others have said, you need volume to cover the costs there. A weekly event (at minimum) should be the goal. I don't know what the monthly operating costs are, but it's simple math to figure out how many seats (and at what price) you need to sell a month to break even. Move forward with selling the property, but also try to stop the financial drain on the city while it sits there.
Mayor Doughtie's comment, "Hopefully, we are moving in the right direction" sums it up perfectly. No one on the council or involved in this whole process has EVER run a theater. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that hope is all you have if you don't get the right tools for the job. When will the city get a clue?
Now here are my hopes. I hope the city council will find someone to sell the theater to, because every time they get involved it's just another joke. I hope that tourism will realize that spending money to advertise a "building" that is a theater puts you in the theater business. I hope that everyone realizes that the events listed so far aren't going to pay the bills. I hope that tourism can focus on the things that actually bring people to the area and quit wasting money on the city's mistakes.
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