Schools
OHS Theater Problems Costing District 308 Revenue
The project is on the district's list of capital improvements.
officials said renovations to the theater at potentially could bring thousands of dollars to the district’s coffers annually.
The district loses out on revenue each year, because of the theater floor and stage rigging at .
Eric Arrambide, theatre manager for the Performing Arts Center, said the theater floor, built in 1990, has not been maintained.
Each year, the district rents out the theater spaces to dance companies, theater groups, and the park district.
When the theater is booked for productions, district officials said they will suggest the facility to potential renters, but often they are turned down because it doesn’t meet certain standards.
“The facility issue at is such that people cannot dance on the floor because it suffers from dry-rotting,” Arrambide said.
When the spike tape used to lay out the floor for performances is pulled up, “you get splinters from the floor,” Arrambide said. “It’s that bad.”
Last year, revenue from renting out the theater space was $200,000, compared to $30,000 for .
“We are actually in a situation where we lose out on revenue possibilities because (the theater) is not what it needs to be,” said Angie Smith, the district’s director of business services.
Smith said the hope is that if the district addresses the issues and markets the facility, it could see rental levels similar to those at . Officials estimate the theater renovation will cost $300,000.
Some board members expressed concern about the proposed renovation.
“The reality of the situation is that ( gets booked a lot because it's a newer facility. It’s a nicer facility,” board member Brent Lightfoot said. “My concern is we spend this money, update the floor, do some electrical and it’s still not the same level as . If someone has seen and used and it's booked, I don't agree just because we fixed the floor we’re automatically going to be able to move the rental to .”
The project will be on the capital projects list district officials will bring to the next board meeting for approval.
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