The Rochester (Area) Broadway Theatre League’s new theatre-proposals heard
Where, oh where should the Rochester Broadway Theatre League build it’s new theatre?
To me, it seems like a no-brainer - in Rochester, of course. Yesterday, the suburbs and the city made their presentations to the league’s site selection committee in hopes of plucking that plum, but apparently the mayor’s presentation was a bit matter-of-fact and less than impressive to those in attendance. from Rachel Barnhart at 13 WHAM:
There are two ways to look at the mayor’s non-presentation in front of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s site selection committee.
You could say the city was profoundly arrogant and disrespectful to have put so little work into the “theater pitch.” Other developers appear to have spent considerable time and money to put together their plans. The city didn’t give RBTL anything it asked for in terms of specifics about infrastructure, parking, finances, etc. You could say the mayor seemed half-hearted, subdued, and downright skeptical about the whole thing.
[snip]
There’s another way to look at what the mayor did today.
He is giving RBTL – and the community – a choice.
In a nutshell, Bob Duffy is saying, “You should build the theater downtown because it’s the right thing to do. I don’t know how we’re going to accomplish this goal. It’s not going to be easy, but I want to try. I can’t do it alone, however.”
I agree with Rachel. The RBTL should have it’s theatre in Rochester. After the Ren Square debacle, though, you can probably forget any assistance in that department from our county executive. Will Ms Brooks end up cutting off her nose to spite her face? Will we be looking at the Rochester Area Broadway Theatre League?
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I thought the RBTL was going to build a theater downtown, but the mayor didn’t want them to.
Which is it?
rbtl wanted a ‘free’ theatre built downtown. city council and the mayor stood up for us taxpayers and simply asked where the funding was coming from? since it was non-existent, we were saved for subsidizing a theatre many of us will never use.
Thanks Lakkido.
+++ - The mayor was critical of Ren Square’s theater proposal because there was no funding attached. He also advocated rehabbing the Auditorium. A couple things have changed since Ren Square died. First, suburban developers lined up to build a theater. Second, a rehab of the Aud proved cost-prohibitive. Now the mayor’s being forced to advocate for a theater he’s not sure will ever be funded.
Now I’m confused.
I thought the benefit of tying the theater to Ren Square was that their was funding to clear the site and abate the asbestos.
Also, didn’t the RBTL told the Mayor that the Auditorium Theater rehab wasn’t feasible before Ren Square died?
I would say the chances that the RBTL will remain at the Auditorium are pretty good. Less than 5% for a suburban site and if ….and that is a major “IF”, the community can strongly agree (city, county, state, federal officials…along with a strong commitment from private donors), then there is a decent chance a new theater will be built at the Midtown site.
I see no possibility of state and federal officials giving substantial public grants (tens of millions of dollars) to move a site from the city to an affluent suburban site. Among the last viable industries in the city is the Arts/cultural industry and the loss of its major anchor would be devastating to the arts community and the many restaurants/entertainment venues that feed off RBTL’s shows. Democratic leaders will NOT allow this to happen. And realize that the vast majority …if not all of the theaters that schedule Broadway shows are located in center cities….not in suburbs.
Now it is up to RBTL to demonstrate that they can put together a community consensus and obtain significant private sector funds in order to justify a new publicly financed theater. If they can’t….the Auditorium Theater remains its home. If they can…then the city, the region and art patrons will benefit from a new performing arts center in downtown Rochester. The major problem in this scenario is the horrible economic/financial crisis that will continue to inhibit public and private sector funding for many years.
Dennis - Now those same city politicians are asking that the theater be built downtown, anyway. Of course a theater at Midtown would require city funds. The mayor has already offered to donate the land, which would probably disappear forever from the tax rolls. In addition, the costs of installing infrastructure at Midtown will be borne by taxpayers.
rochester99-Perhaps this is the mayor’s gamble. Continue to be skeptical that any funds will go to a theater, don’t lobby for these funds, and hope the project goes nowhere and RBTL is stuck at the Aud. But this strategy could backfire. Just as Ren Square raised all kinds of funds with no city help, perhaps these suburban towns can do the same. We need to see what these developers are offering before speculating more on what kind of state funding is needed to build in the suburbs. Building downtown is estimated to be $10M more.
Rachel….RenSquare was able to obtain substantial funds because the project was located in downtown Rochester….not an affluent suburb. Also, it is relatively easy to obtain Public Transportation money …..a site in the suburb without any transportation component will be a much different story. And realize that we are in the middle of the worst economic/financial crisis since the great depression where getting any private and public funding will be extremely problematic. ….now… and over the next several years.
If you looked at the funding at RenSquare…much of the money was directed specifically to the bus terminal and MCC campus…the most difficult component was the Performing Arts Center. Again…today’s environment is much, much more difficult than existed just a year ago. Because of these facts, I gave the suburban site about a 5% chance of succeeding…and I was very generous!
And the final point is the actual need for a 3,000 seat theater. This need has yet to be analyzed by an unbiased third party. You assume this need from the current demands from RBTL….but I question if these needs are wants rather than a urgent need. I would love to see a major Theater being built in downtown Rochester…but I am also realistic and pragmatic and realize what is financially feasible.