City of Rochester
News Release
(Thursday, September 24, 2009) - The City has met with the Rochester Broadway Theatre League (RBTL) and expressed our interest in examining the specific cost for re-use or possible expansion of the Auditorium Theatre. The City will be hiring The Pike Company to conduct the study and to issue a feasibility report.
We advised the RBTL that if the Auditorium is mutually found to be financially and operationally not feasible then together, we would be willing to look at other existing building sites in the city. Furthermore, they suggested the Midtown footprint as a possible location and we are open to examining this alternative.
We are very much interested in having the RBTL remain in the city, but we can’t force them to make that decision. They are a private enterprise using private developers that are seeking public funding for this project. We have discussed the fact that there is sentiment amongst our state legislators that if any funding is forthcoming that the theatre should be located in the city.
Assemblyman Joseph Morelle stated, "I strongly feel that if we look at funding a performing arts center, it needs to be tied to a downtown vision. Otherwise we would be wasting our limited resources.”
Finally, there is the issue of the proposed size of the theatre. The RBTL is taking the position that the seating capacity can be no less than 3,000. We have conducted an internal study of 19 mid-sized cities and found that the average performing arts center seats 2,409 theatre-goers. A copy of the study is attached.
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-Enclosures Follow-
News Media: For further information please contact Michael Keane at 428-6064.
Theatre Capacity Comparison
NY City Theatres that regularly feature musicals:
Theater seating
Majestic: 1,655 “Broadway’s best theater for major musicals…” e.g., Phantom
Broadway: 1,680
Minskoff: 1,710
Vivian Beaumont: 1,080
Winter Garden: 1,482 (Cats, 42nd St., Mama Mia)
Imperial: 1,421
Richard Rodgers: 1,368
New Amsterdam: 1,771 (Lion King)
Lunt Fontaine: 1,475
Eugene O’Neill: 1,108
John Golden: 805 (Ave Q)
Average seating capacity: 1,400
The chart below is provided by: http://www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/ . Comparable mid-sized cites to Rochester are in bold – 19 in total.
Average seating capacity: 2,409
San Francisco Curran: 1667
Salt Lake City Capitol Theatre: 1917
Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Center: 1970
Salt Lake City Kingsbury Hall: 1971
Albuquerque Popejoy Auditorium: 1985
St Petersburg Mahaffey: 2030
Fort Worth Bass Hall: 2032
Boise Morrison Center: 2040
Appleton Fox Cities PAC: 2070
Indianapolis Clowes Hall: 2074
Palm Beach Kravis Center: 2115
Minneapolis State: 2119
Honolulu Blaisdell Auditorium: 2121
Kansas City Music Hall: 2200
San Francisco Orpheum: 2203
Madison Overture Center: 2216
Baltimore France-Merrick PAC: 2232
Washington DC Opera House: 2294
San Francisco Golden Gate: 2297
Milwaukee Uihlein Hall: 2305
Fresno Saroyan Theater: 2343
Miami Arsht CPA: 2348
Orlando Bob Carr: 2367
Toledo Stranahan Theater: 2409
East Lansing Cobb Great Hall: 2420
Nashville Andrew Jackson Hall: 2425
Norfolk Chrysler: 2451
Tampa Morsani Hall: 2466
Louisville Kentucky Center: 2479
Eugene Hult Center: 2487
Omaha Orpheum Theater: 2546
Minneapolis Orpheum: 2588
Boston Opera House: 2592
Indianapolis Murat Theatre: 2621
Cincinnati Aronoff Center: 2623
Columbus Palace Theatre: 2623
Houston Sarofim Hall: 2637
Spokane INB PAC: 2640
Louisville Louisville Palace: 2645
Fort Lauderdale Broward Center: 2653
Cleveland Palace Theatre: 2658
Pittsburgh Heinz: 2663
Los Angeles Pantages: 2703
Des Moines Civic Center: 2721
Columbus Ohio Theatre: 2747
Tempe Gammage: 2797
Seattle Paramount: 2811
Birmingham BJCC: 2814
Pittsburgh Benedum: 2824
Jacksonville Moran Theatre: 2856
Akron EJ Thomas: 2863
San Antonio Majestic: 2911
Portland Keller: 2992
Costa Mesa Orange County PAC: 3034
Cleveland State Theater: 3194
Kalamazoo Miller Auditorium: 3483
Richmond Landmark: 3538
Atlanta Fox Theatre: 4480
Austin Bass Concert Hall: 4480
St. Louis Fox: 5060
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