Durham Performing Arts Center
Encyclopedia
The Durham Performing Arts Center opened November 30, 2008 as the largest performing arts center in the Carolinas at a cost of $48 million. It will be the main venue
for the performing arts
in Durham, North Carolina
.
and Professional Facilities Management. The operator guarantees a minimum of 100 event performances per year on a rolling three-year average and absorbs any losses for the first five years of operation, at which time the operator could return the management back to the City or negotiate the terms of continued third party management of the theater with the City.
The City borrowed $33.7 million for the center's construction through Certificates of Participation ("COPs"), instruments commonly used to finance municipal facilities. Debt service payments on COPs are subject annual appropriation the City, and as such are considered an annual operating expense rather than a long-term capital obligation. Accordingly, a voter referendum was not required for the issuance of the COPs. Additional sources of funds for the project include facility naming rights, a Duke University contribution, an operator loan, and several other sources. The Duke University
contribution equaled $7.5 million. The theater hosts, on favorable rental terms, the seven-week American Dance Festival summer series, which had previously been presented in the 1,232-seat Page Auditorium at Duke University The cost to the city for the $33.7 million in bonds will be almost $70 million over 28 years.
Naming rights were budgeted to bring in $800,000 annually, but in 2007 when the project was $400,000 under that estimate, the city agreed to draw up to $200,000 a year from its general fund to partially make up the difference. The Durham city council agreed to an additional $200,000 request in April 2009 for video and trash facility installation.. While the City has had some success with naming rights, securing major naming rights sponsorships has been challenging due to current economic conditions.
However, the theater has far exceeded projections for attendance, activity, gross revenue, net income after operating expenses. Both the City's 40% share of theater net income and income to the City from ticket facility fee surcharges have far exceeded projections. At more than $1.2 million, the City's 40% share of theater net income in fiscal year 2009-2010 was over five times more than originally projected.
Further, the theater has had far greater fiscal and economic impacts than the $7 million to $11 million original annual projections of the City's independent consultant and the Durham Convention and Visitor's Bureau ("DCVB"). The DCVB estimates that the theater had a $10.9 million economic impact to the City in just the first seven months of operation. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the City of Durham reported that the theater had a citywide economic impact of over $24 million.
The Durham Performing Arts Center has been credited with benefiting the restaurant business in downtown Durham, in spite of the 2008 - 2010 recession. Five downtown restaurants opened in downtown Durham in proximity to the theater since its opening, significantly supported by pre- and post-show seatings generated by the theater. The theater was cited in a CNN Money and Fortune Magazine article ranking the City of Durham as number one in its list of "25 Best Places to Retire."
In spite of the sharpest decline in the travel and leisure sector in a generation due to the recent recession, the State of North Carolina ranked as the third highest state in hospitality job growth according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Durham Performing Arts Center was cited as contributing "to the growth of leisure and hospitality jobs in North Carolina over the past five years" by the Triangle Business Journal.
In 2004, the chairman of the board of what was to be DPAC's primary local booking, the American Dance Festival
, said that the goals of DPAC and the goals of the festival were at odds. Although the supporters of DPAC's construction mentioned the dance festival as a primary reason for building the theatre, the festival's request for a small black box theatre was not granted. However, in 2009, the festival said that the larger theatre had solved many complaints about the festival's previous space at Duke University.
(also owned by the city of Durham) or the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
in Raleigh
.
Former Durham City Council member Thomas Stith objected when city employee Mark Greenspan lobbied the city council on behalf of the theatre's eventual contractor, Skanska, and then went to work for Skanska four months after the contract was awarded. Stith called for a "cooling-off period" for city employees, similar to those enacted by state and federal governments. The Durham City Council rejected the measure in April 2007.
and the biggest-name acts of the 2009 edition of the American Dance Festival. Its first performance, which was sold out, was B.B. King.
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
for the performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
.
Costs and history
The theater holds 2,712. The first event on opening night was a concert given by B.B. King. The theater is owned by the city of Durham. After talks with ClearChannel fell through, the City negotiated a theater operating agreement with Nederlander OrganizationNederlander Organization
The Nederlander Organization, founded in 1912 by David T. Nederlander and based in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest operators of legitimate theatres and music venuesin the United States. Its first acquisition was a lease on the Detroit Opera House in 1912. The building was demolished in...
and Professional Facilities Management. The operator guarantees a minimum of 100 event performances per year on a rolling three-year average and absorbs any losses for the first five years of operation, at which time the operator could return the management back to the City or negotiate the terms of continued third party management of the theater with the City.
The City borrowed $33.7 million for the center's construction through Certificates of Participation ("COPs"), instruments commonly used to finance municipal facilities. Debt service payments on COPs are subject annual appropriation the City, and as such are considered an annual operating expense rather than a long-term capital obligation. Accordingly, a voter referendum was not required for the issuance of the COPs. Additional sources of funds for the project include facility naming rights, a Duke University contribution, an operator loan, and several other sources. The Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
contribution equaled $7.5 million. The theater hosts, on favorable rental terms, the seven-week American Dance Festival summer series, which had previously been presented in the 1,232-seat Page Auditorium at Duke University The cost to the city for the $33.7 million in bonds will be almost $70 million over 28 years.
Naming rights were budgeted to bring in $800,000 annually, but in 2007 when the project was $400,000 under that estimate, the city agreed to draw up to $200,000 a year from its general fund to partially make up the difference. The Durham city council agreed to an additional $200,000 request in April 2009 for video and trash facility installation.. While the City has had some success with naming rights, securing major naming rights sponsorships has been challenging due to current economic conditions.
However, the theater has far exceeded projections for attendance, activity, gross revenue, net income after operating expenses. Both the City's 40% share of theater net income and income to the City from ticket facility fee surcharges have far exceeded projections. At more than $1.2 million, the City's 40% share of theater net income in fiscal year 2009-2010 was over five times more than originally projected.
Further, the theater has had far greater fiscal and economic impacts than the $7 million to $11 million original annual projections of the City's independent consultant and the Durham Convention and Visitor's Bureau ("DCVB"). The DCVB estimates that the theater had a $10.9 million economic impact to the City in just the first seven months of operation. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the City of Durham reported that the theater had a citywide economic impact of over $24 million.
The Durham Performing Arts Center has been credited with benefiting the restaurant business in downtown Durham, in spite of the 2008 - 2010 recession. Five downtown restaurants opened in downtown Durham in proximity to the theater since its opening, significantly supported by pre- and post-show seatings generated by the theater. The theater was cited in a CNN Money and Fortune Magazine article ranking the City of Durham as number one in its list of "25 Best Places to Retire."
In spite of the sharpest decline in the travel and leisure sector in a generation due to the recent recession, the State of North Carolina ranked as the third highest state in hospitality job growth according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Durham Performing Arts Center was cited as contributing "to the growth of leisure and hospitality jobs in North Carolina over the past five years" by the Triangle Business Journal.
In 2004, the chairman of the board of what was to be DPAC's primary local booking, the American Dance Festival
American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival is a six and four-week school for dance and a six-week summer festival of modern dance performances, currently held at Duke University and the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, North Carolina....
, said that the goals of DPAC and the goals of the festival were at odds. Although the supporters of DPAC's construction mentioned the dance festival as a primary reason for building the theatre, the festival's request for a small black box theatre was not granted. However, in 2009, the festival said that the larger theatre had solved many complaints about the festival's previous space at Duke University.
Controversies
Concerns have consistently been raised by Triangle arts supporters that the Durham theatre could hurt the nearby Carolina TheatreCarolina Theatre
The Carolina Theatre of Durham is a theater in downtown Durham, North Carolina. The city owns the facility and it operates under the stewardship of a nonprofit organization named The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Incorporated.-History:...
(also owned by the city of Durham) or the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.The naming rights to the center currently are held by Progress Energy, which purchased them from the city in 2005 for a 20-year term at the cost of $7.5 million...
in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
Former Durham City Council member Thomas Stith objected when city employee Mark Greenspan lobbied the city council on behalf of the theatre's eventual contractor, Skanska, and then went to work for Skanska four months after the contract was awarded. Stith called for a "cooling-off period" for city employees, similar to those enacted by state and federal governments. The Durham City Council rejected the measure in April 2007.
Performances
The theater will host primarily national touring acts. Local bookings have included a Triangle production of A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
and the biggest-name acts of the 2009 edition of the American Dance Festival. Its first performance, which was sold out, was B.B. King.