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November 20, 2009

City mulls management deal for opera house

MSU's Wharton Center could take the reins

By Sheri McWhirter

TRAVERSE CITY -- A deal is in the works to pay an East Lansing organization $75,000 annually to manage the City Opera House in downtown Traverse City.

The City Opera House would be managed by the Wharton Center for Performing Arts at Michigan State University. Traverse City commissioners must decide whether to sign off on a proposed three-year contract for the city-owned historical building on Front Street.

The first public discussion about the contract will be today at 8 a.m. during the city's Downtown Development Authority board meeting. City commissioners then are expected to discuss the proposed deal at a study session on Monday, then later consider the contract at a regular meeting.

"It is good for downtown. In a year we'll all look back and think this is great," said Angela Schuler, co-chair of the opera house board.

The facility went through a multimillion-dollar renovation paid for by a long-running community fundraising campaign. The spot is now available for private rentals as a performance venue directed by the City Opera House Heritage Association, the nonprofit that raised money for restoration.

The opera house is entirely funded through donations and venue rental rates, and pays taxes and rent to the city. It does not receive city tax dollars to operate.

Wharton's fee will be paid from the opera house's operational fund, Schuler said.

Some have concerns.

"I don't want the money going out of the community. If it's not being managed well, then perhaps we should hire a new manager here," said T. Michael Jackson, who sits on the DDA board.

Should the deal be sealed, Wharton will take over operations, bookings and financial responsibility for the opera house on July 1, 2010. That means if the facility fails to make a profit -- it never has -- Wharton absorbs the losses. Any earned profits will be split between Wharton and the opera house, the latter keeping 75 percent, the contract says.

Wharton will not be responsible for the opera house's current debt of approximately $250,000.

Rental rates will be studied and may increase under the new agreement, a concern for Edward Downing, executive director of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, the most frequent renter at the opera house.

"The cost of putting on a production is always a concern," Downing said. "But I think it's much too early to talk about worries. We must not lose the City Opera House. It's too important to downtown. This is an opportunity to test a relationship that might work."

Local performers will still be able to book shows and set their own ticket prices, while Wharton will fill in programming "gaps," said Kent Love, Wharton spokesman.

"I'm going to study this and we're going to vet this publicly," said Mayor Chris Bzdok.

Related Story: Wharton Center, Opera House could team up

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