The Dark Side of CenterStage

The CenterStage countdown is underway. After years of fundraising, taxing, digging, not digging, explaining and not explaining, the theater that originally opened at 6th and Grace streets, as the Loew’s in 1928, will reopen in September as the much-improved Carpenter Theatre.

This renovation story began in 2001 with the formation of the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation. Along the way, after enduring some blistering criticism, the plan was scaled down somewhat -- basically, one new auditorium was discarded.

After all the twists and turns this project’s story has taken, understanding how we got to this point -- 123 days until the opening -- isn’t so easy. One reason for that is it’s complicated.

Another reason is how difficult it can be to get useful information.

From the start, there have been legions of boosters for what is now called Richmond CenterStage; many of them have been happy with the plan, all along, no matter what. Some other folks have found fault with the way this project has been put together.

Understanding either side’s case calls for wading through an alphabet soup of acronyms.

The Carpenter Theatre is owned by the City of Richmond. The other components of the Richmond CenterStage project -- the Gottwald Playhouse, the Rhythm Hall, the Showcase Gallery, etc. -- are owned by the CenterStage Foundation, the entity that used to call itself the VAPAF.

Then there’s the Richmond Performing Arts Center. RPAC has a 40-year lease on the Carpenter Theatre. RPAC will also lease the other aspects of the CenterStage complex, those listed in the previous paragraph. The mayor appoints board members of the RPAC to three-year terms; former-Mayor Doug Wilder appointed all the current members.

RPAC has already contracted with SMG to manage the entire CenterStage complex. Since 1977 SMG has been in the business of managing large facilities, such as stadiums, convention centers and theaters. SMG has run the Richmond Coliseum since 1985. Last year, it began running the Landmark Theatre, which is also owned by Richmond’s taxpayers.

Based in Philadelphia, according to its Web site, SMG "controls over 1.5 million entertainment seats and manages more than 10 million feet of exhibition space." Which leads some to wonder about SMG also booking the talent for the Coliseum’s competitors, such as the John Paul Jones Center in Charlottesville. Is that a conflict of interest, what with the other market so close?

Others remember a bizarre occasion in the Coliseum when a much-promoted NCAA basketball game in 2001 -- Michigan St. vs. Virginia on ESPN -- was halted by the referees, because the floor was too wet for basketball. It was dangerous. That time, management, SMG, blundered its way into a condensation problem stemming from hockey ice being under the basketball court, when it shouldn’t have been.

OK, anybody can have a bad night.

However, if you want to get an idea of how good a job SMG has done as the decision-maker for the Coliseum, what you’d need to see most is the bottom line. Like, in the last five years, how much money has been made, or lost, at the Coliseum, which is owned by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority? How’s it been going at the Landmark?

Since, Richmond’s taxpayers are subsidizing those venues, how about a look at the books? And, how about some sunlight into how and why the Coliseum, the Landmark and now RPAC have chosen SMG to manage these venues? Is SMG’s track record that good?

Well, if you call SMG, don’t surprised if you’re told the people who can answer questions are in meetings, and that someone will call you back ... one day. Nor should you be surprised that people who work for the City of Richmond don‘t want to answer questions, either.

Likewise, if you ask whether anyone at CenterStage, on staff or at any level, has ever managed any kind of theater. They don’t have an answer. Don’t bother waiting for a call back.

So, if you want to find out if your hunch is right, that the Landmark and Coliseum have both been operating in the red for a long time, you might have to settle for doubletalk. Moreover, if you want to know much about RPAC’s way of doing business, forget about it -- there’s a law to prevent that sort of scrutiny.

Yes, with sunlight into government spending being called for more all the time, Richmond’s City Council passed a law to keep us in the dark. In 2008, City Ordinance No. 2008-20 says: "Pursuant to Va. Code 56-575.17(D) and Section 4.1(b)(2) of this Agreement, financial statements submitted as required by this subsection will not be subject to public disclosure."

Perhaps too conveniently Richmond's government considers RPAC to be a "private entity."

After all the trouble with money the CenterStage project has been through, this peculiar barrier between the taxpayers and the truth about their money is an affront to the citizens of Richmond.

It also underlines the overshadowing problem -- owning and operating theaters is not an easy thing for a city to do. The complications are daunting. The spirit of the impresario is missing.

Can Richmond sell the Carpenter Theatre, if a would-be buyer wants to buy it in five years?

Nobody’s saying ... break a leg.

F.T. Rea is a freelance artist and writer based in the Fan District. He publishes SLANTblog and the Fan District Hub, an independent community news Web site. Rea's work has been seen under a variety of local mastheads since 1972. This is an opinion piece. His opinion is not necessarily that of Richmond.com or any site affiliated with the company or its owners.