Mariners Centre proposes concert budget

Facility is great venue for music shows, but there are challenges, Mariners Centre GM says

In an effort to host more musical performances, Yarmouth’s Mariners Centre is proposing a separate concert budget be established for the facility, and it is looking to the Yarmouth-area municipal units to see if they are interested.

The Mariners Centre is gesting a $45,000 budget.

“The Mariners Centre is uniquely equipped with a fullsize modular stage, background draping, acoustical wall panels and full-service ticketing system that make it an ideal venue for concerts,” said Gil Dares, the Mariners Centre’s general manager.

The Mariners Centre faces a number of challenges in attracting more music shows, he said, including a lack of floor seating. Yarmouth’s geographic location and the area’s population are factors too, he said.

At present, the Mariners Centre has 500 folding chairs that can easily be attached together, or “ganged,” a safety feature required of the fire marshal.

“An additional 300 to 500 folding chairs would be required in order to make a concert a viable endeavour,” Dares said in a letter outlining the Mariners Centre’s concert proposal.

That Yarmouth being at the end of the province is a challenge too, he said, making it less desirable for musical acts than other areas that are more readily accessed.

Population is a factor as well, he said, noting that the catchment area at this end of Nova Scotia isn’t as densely populated as it is for more centrally located venues or bigger urban areas.

Over the years, the Mariners Centre has hosted some successful concerts and others that weren’t so lucrative, he said.

One of the things that has changed on the concert scene has been the emergence of new facilities elsewhere in Nova Scotia, Dares said.

Where once the Mariners Centre would have been included on an artist’s or group’s tour of the sug- County artist Travis Tritt performed at the Mariners Centre years ago. The Mariners Centre would like to see more concerts occur here. province or Maritimes – fulfilling the obligatory number of shows, even if Yarmouth wasn’t as profitable a stop as others – the opening of new venues in other areas, including Liverpool, Bridgewater, New Glasgow and Truro, meant there was less of a need to include Yarmouth.

For the Mariners Centre, how concert costs are covered also has changed.

“At this time, the only option offered to the Mariners Centre is straight purchase of the show,” Dares said. “Typically, this includes not only the performance fees, but also production and advertising costs, along with the concert rider conditions.”

It can make concerts expensive, with no allowance for financial loss in the Mariners Centre’s existing budget, he said.

On the other hand, depending on the audience appeal of the performer and the number of seats that can be sold, concerts can be money makers, Dares said.

“However, there is always a risk, one that is not provided for in our operational budget,” he said.