Balboa Theater officials will pitch business plan
June Casagrande
BALBOA PENINSULA -- The Balboa Theater would pump about $3 million a
year into the local economy, according to a business plan for the
proposed theater that the City Council will review.
“This shows that the theater would be a real catalyst to the downtown
economy,” said Bill Wren, vice president of the Balboa Performing Arts
Theater Foundation, which is charged with transforming the decrepit
vaudeville house into a world-class performance venue.
The business plan was requested by city officials who are considering
quadrupling the city’s current $480,000 investment in the theater project
by purchasing the building next door at 111 Main St., where Orange Julius
is now located. The Orange Julius would be closed.
Before sinking between $1.4 million and $1.6 million into the
purchase, City Council members said they wanted to see a business plan
for the project.
On Tuesday, city staff will present to council members the plan, which
argues that even if the theater project falls through, the city would net
about $920,000 on their current investment in the theater by converting
it into a commercial property.
The plan also projects that it will take about three years for the
theater to achieve its full revenue potential of about $600,000 a year.
“I don’t think it’s a surprise to the city that it will be several
years before the theater is up and running financially,” City Manager
Homer Bludau said.
The plan shows that the theater will operate at a deficit of about
$150,000 a year, but Wren said that’s the way most theaters operate.
“Performing arts theaters lose money; they’re constantly in
fund-raising mode. That’s not unusual,” said Wren, who explained that the
disparity might be covered by fund-raising by the theater’s Divas
auxiliary group or through board members’ contributions, which are
expected to be about $125,000 a year.
The benefits of the theater, which would showcase drama, dance, music
and even film, extend far beyond its own books, Wren said. The 350-seat
venue would draw theatergoers from throughout the county, shaping the
economy and culture of the peninsula year-round.
“It fills a void in a county that does not have performing arts
theaters this size and with the facilities we will have,” Wren said. “And
it will pull spenders into the community year-round.”
The theater suffered its most recent setback when planners learned
that the building’s basement would require about $1.4 million in upgrades
before it could be used as space for dressing rooms and restrooms. To
fill that need, officials have proposed buying the Orange Julius
building, using a portion of it for theater space and selling the
remaining portion of the building.
Wren said the foundation’s goal is to have about $2 million in the
bank before starting construction. Right now, they have about $1.25
million. Until then, he said, they won’t make any predictions about when
the theater could be complete.
“We’re being very conservative,” Wren said.
Mayor Tod Ridgeway, who has helped push for the theater for years,
said he will have to examine the business plan closely before coming to
any conclusions.
“We have to look at this, using sound business judgment, as an
investment,” Ridgeway said.
* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)
574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .
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