Showplace plans renos after boost from city

Showplace Performance Centre is getting the boost it requested from the city, after all.

Councillors approved a plan to give the downtown venue an increase in its service grant from $107,181 annually to $137,181 – a boost of $30,000 every year.

Service grants are given to notfor-profit organizations that offer services that the city would otherwise be expected to offer.

Showplace is also getting $75,000 in 2018 toward renovations, as well as a further $75,000 for that same purpose in 2019.

The venue has been struggling lately to pay soaring hydro bills and maintain its building, councillors heard on Tuesday, but this financial boost is expected to help Showplace erase a deficit and do some renovations too.

Councillors seemed happy to support the plan.

“I want to see Showplace prosper,” said Coun. Keith Riel.

The vote came Tuesday night after Riel said he wanted to invite Showplace officials to budget talks on Tuesday to answer some questions about their plans and finances.

Showplace has a deficit of $194,814, and councillors wanted to hear about the plans to pay it off over the next few years.

Councillors heard from three people Tuesday: Showplace board chairwoman Pat Hooper, interim general manager Emily Martin and treasurer Earl McLeod.

Hooper says the board is planning to sell memberships, sponsorships and naming rights to help erase the deficit – and they’re doing more fundraisers, too.

Martin said Showplace won’t be shuttered in summer this year: instead, they plan to rent out the space for events such as conferences (they won’t bring in shows, she said, so they don’t compete with the MusicFest in Del Crary Park).

Meanwhile Showplace has also trimmed its staff, McLeod pointed out: two full-time staff positions and one part-time staff position have been eliminated in an effort to reduce costs.

There’s also a plan for finding money to pay for renovations, councillors heard.

The board applied for Trillium funding from the province to replace the seats, for example, and should hear back by March. The cost to replace all the venue’s 20-year-old seats is $300,000.

In the meantime, Martin said they’ve accepted some used seats donated from the newly renovated Orillia opera house.

There are also federal and provincial grants available to replace the front doors so they’re more accessible (cost: $20,000), to repair the roof ($40,000) and to replace the ageing front marquee ($300,000).

Coun. Dan McWilliams asked why they need to do renovations when the vintage look of Showplace works just fine for him.

“I don’t need the new-car smell .... What are we doing all these upgrades for?” he asked.

Martin said it comes down to safety: The marquee’s electrical system is not up to code, for example, and some of the plastic panels may be in danger of falling out.

Riel said he was glad to have the extra information and to support Showplace; he said he’s a patron there.

Coun. Dean Pappas said it’s also important to ensure there’s a downtown theatre that isn’t cityowned (like Market Hall). He called Showplace an iconic building and said he was glad to support it.

Mayor Daryl Bennett said he saw value in supporting Showplace because it contributes to the vibrant arts scene in Peterborough. The city doesn’t just fund sports, he pointed out.

“This is an investment in culture,” he said.