After suffering $3 million in provincial funding reductions, St. Clair College had no choice but to cut ties with the Capitol Theatre, a spokesman for the school said Monday.
Ron Seguin, Vice President, International Relations, Training & Campus Development, said “the world has changed” since the college began operating the theatre in 2012.
“The theatre itself is exceptional, it’s a jewel and should be the pride of Chatham-Kent,” he said. “The staff, from Lesley Grand throughout, is wonderful to work with.”
After a strong first year of operation the college has sustained losses, most recently approaching the $300,000 mark last year, leading it to inform Chatham-Kent Council that the current agreement will not be renewed when it expires next March.
The college has sustained losses approaching the $300,000 mark annually.
“We are fully committed to Chatham-Kent but the theatre is a non-core business and if it comes down to operating it or serving students, we have to choose the students.”
Seguin said the municipality’s decision earlier this year to pull $1.3 in funding because the college didn’t follow through with plans for use of the theatre annex or other downtown facility wasn’t part of the decision.
Bob Crawford, Chatham-Kent Community Development General Manager, confirmed that his department is examining options for the 1,210-seat facility that has been operated by the college since March of 2012.
“The one thing I can assure you is that the Capitol will continue to operate as a theatre,” he said. “We are obligated to operate it as a theatre until 2027 as part of the senior government funding that was received for renovating the building.”
Although Crawford wouldn’t confirm the amount, sources tell the Voice that the municipality could have to repay as much as $7 million if it fails to live up to its obligation.
Crawford said rumours that the municipality has projected a $600,000 annual deficit if it had to operate the facility itself are “inaccurate.”
“I will tell you that we are reviewing revenue and expenses ourselves to get a fully accurate picture of the financial picture,” he said.
Crawford said at this point he hasn’t ruled out discussions with the college to operate the facility under a different agreement.
“St. Clair has done a good job operating the theatre and I believe is still interested but as any provincially funded institution it has to be accountable for its finances,” he said. “There are no villains here.”
Seguin concurred that the college is fully co-operating with the municipality and would entertain a revised agreement if it were financially feasible.
Acting Mayor Trevor Thompson said council has asked staff for a complete review of the situation with all options under consideration.
“My feeling is that our initial goal would be to find someone to operate it but I don’t know how much interest there is,” he said. “We are obligated to operate it regardless so it could fall back on us. I don’t see any appetite on council for shuttering the facility and giving the money back.”
Thompson said the scope of staff investigation must include all venues in the municipality.
“You have to ask yourself if taking the $1.3 million back from the college contributed to this decision, but what’s done is done.”
Chatham-Kent CAO Don Shropshire said there is no doubt the theatre has contributed to the economic health of downtown Chatham.
“We will endeavour to include all facets of not only the Capitol’s situation but everything associated with what’s being done with arts and culture,” he said. “Whatever we find will be reported back to council and dealt with in an open fashion.”
Crawford said the Capitol’s reputation as a first-class venue and its value to the community are unquestioned.
“We have had a long list of “A” list entertainers who have been very impressed with the facility,” he said. “When the theatre is in use, we have an extremely busy downtown core and local restaurants and motels have spikes in business.”
The venue has hosted such performers as Bill Cosby, Howie Mandel, Great Big Sea, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Manhattan Transfer, Michelle Wright, Colm Wilkinson, The Rankin Family, Tegan and Sara and others.
In addition, it has been home to scores of dance competitions, Chatham Fire Fest events and numerous other community events.
The theatre has been a controversial project since the building was saved from the wreckers’ ball in the mid 1990s.
Chatham Capitol Theatre Coalition was registered as a charitable group in August 1996 and set about renovations.
After some $20 million in renovation funding the theatre opened in September of 2010.
It was operated by the non-profit Capitol Theatre Association for less than a year before that group went bankrupt in 2011. The College assumed management the following year.
Chatham-Kent’s portion of the $20 million cost of the theatre was $5.4 million, of which $1 million was paid off between 2000 and 2003.
I truly appreciate the Chatham Voice's efforts to make sure their reporting on this issue contains reasonably accurate numbers, at least to my knowledge. So many ridiculously inflated numbers bounce around the community. Thanks for setting the record straight.