City may whittle theater subsidy

The city does not want to abandon the Eight O'Clock Theatre, but to promote it and lessen the burden on taxpayers.

By SHARON TUBBS

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 23, 2000

LARGO -- The city probably will loosen financial ties to the Eight O'Clock Theatre group and boost marketing efforts and reorganize the staff at the Largo Cultural Center, the group's home, over the next three years.

The changes, discussed during a meeting Tuesday, come as officials look for ways to boost revenue and lessen taxpayer subsidies to the center. Commissioners won't vote on the recommendations until a meeting March 7. But they agreed that some major changes at the center are likely.

Currently, Largo taxpayers contribute $352,000 or 40 percent of the center's $874,000 budget. While officials said they never expected the center to support itself entirely, they aren't satisfied with the 60-40 split.

"I would say if we (the city) only subsidized 15 to 20 percent, that would be good for us," said Recreation and Parks Director Cathy Santa, adding that she projects that to happen in two to three years.

Among the more crucial recommendations Santa proposed Tuesday was encouraging the Eight O'Clock Theatre group to become a non-profit organization. Non-profit status would make the group eligible for more grants and funding from sources other than the city coffers.

Eight O'Clock could become its own non-profit or partner with another non-profit organization, such as Partners N Progress for the Arts, a fundraising group in the city. The transition should be complete in three years, Santa said. She is talking to members of the theater group and the fundraising group to gauge their willingness to form a partnership.

Since the cultural center opened in 1996, subscription sales to Eight O'Clock performances have dropped nearly 35 percent from nearly 1,000 to about 650 today.

Santa noted that theater groups performing out of government centers in other cities operate as non-profit groups. In Largo, however, taxpayers underwrite Eight O'Clock to the tune of about $130,000 in cash and in-kind contributions, a figure that includes use of a theater, labor and other costs, City Manager Steven Stanton said.

"I like the idea, or love the idea, of the Eight O'Clock Theatre going private," Mayor Thomas Feaster said.

"Now is the time for all this," he said. "We've put money into this as we all knew we were going to. But at the same time, we have a diamond in the rough here," he said, adding that better marketing will attract more people to the center.

Santa also plans to cut the number of Eight O'Clock productions. Instead of offering five different shows a year, the group would offer three stage shows that would run for longer periods. The change would slash operating costs by $30,000. But the city would lose about $8,000 in revenue, for a total gain of $22,000.

Santa's recommendations come after two consultants hired by the city surveyed the cultural center and analyzed its operations. To generate more revenue, consultants suggested the city will have to change its relationship with the theater group and improve marketing efforts to target past customers for future shows. Also, the center must increase rentals for space within the facility as well as participation in programs and classes.

Consultants also suggested the city reorganize cultural center staff and add a new position. Current vacancies and changes in salaries in job descriptions will offset extra costs. One consultant will work with cultural center staff in coming months to help members work as a team with the changes to come.

Demographic information compiled from patron surveys indicate increasing ticket prices would not be wise for Largo, said Nancy Brown, president of Designs in Development, a consulting firm in Seminole. Of people who filled out survey forms, 67 percent were 60 years old or older and 38 percent cited household incomes from $21,000 to $45,000, Brown said.

"This is a civic venue and civic venues by their very nature tend to have some support from the city they represent," Brown said. "The question this evening is, how much?"

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