PERFORMANCE BOOST
SPAC plans upgrades to venue before season starts
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is preparing for infrastructure improvments at the popular outdoor music festival.
At its annual meeting Wednesday, one major announcement was the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation approved $1.75 million to rehabilitate and upgrade SPAC’s amphitheater ramps, lighting and other high priority infrastructure as part of the recently approved 2018 New York State budget.
The project is slated to be completed in advance of the 2019 season and will address the venue’s four balcony ramps. As part of the renovation, the ramps will be resurfaced and will include new panels and railings. Additionally, the lighting will be more energy efficient, while preserving the character of SPAC’s signature globe light fixtures.
“I am thrilled to report that 2018 is a landmark year for revitalization and reinvestment in Saratoga Spa State Park,” said Alane Ball Chinian, Saratoga-Capital Region director for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, to the crowd at the meeting, detailing project plans.
In addition to the announcement, SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol and members of the venue board of directors discussed the current state of the center, the upcoming season and plans for its future.
Sobol spoke of SPAC’s ecosystem and its many components including funding, partnerships, programming, innovative initiatives and its physical setting.
“SPAC would not be the powerfully unique and extraordinary place that it is without its location,” she said.
Sobol also spoke of SPAC’s partnerships and collaborations, such as those with Caffè Lena, Skidmore College as well as new ones with SaratogaArtsFest and Saratoga Shakespeare Company, through which a “Shakespeare in the Pines” program will be presented on July 20, and another with miSci, the Museum of Science and Innovation in Schenectady, with which the first-ever Out of this World Festival will be presented in August.
“The partnerships that we launched in 2017 with our beloved local artistic institutions like Caffe Lena, Skidmore College and SaratogaArtsFest have exceeded our expectations and affirmed the power and potential of the right collaborations,” Sobol said in a news release. “Looking ahead to this summer, we are excited to continue to build upon that success with a renewed commitment to partnerships with our cultural community and an expansion into new relationships with local businesses.”
In addition to fostering local artistic partnerships, SPAC announced its plans to collaborate with the business community, such as the partnership with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce through which the inaugural Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Friday will be presented ahead of the large annual Freihofer’s Jazz Festival at SPAC.
This goes along with other SPAC initiative to focus on cultural tourism. As part of SPAC’s mission to promote the city of Saratoga Springs as a worldwide cultural destination, Sobol shared the recently announced news that the City of Saratoga Springs has supported the center with a $14,000 economic development award. This initiative, which launched this spring, is expected to continue in future years to spur economic development by promoting the city as a thriving arts community to journalists and media beyond the Capital Region.
“Our incredible city is in a moment of transition, as we redefine our civic identity to include the arts,” Sobol said.
Successful programming initiatives like SPAC on Stage and Live at the Jazz Bar will continue, Sobol said at the meeting, and some of the The Philadelphia Orchestra’s SPAC performances will be broadcast this year on local public radio station WMHT as well as WRTI in Philadelphia. This new series is part of a reciprocal agreement between WRTI and WMHT and marks the first time in the orchestra’s storied 52year residency that SPAC concerts have been broadcast on the WRTI airwaves in Philadelphia and the first time that WMHT has dedicated a series to SPAC performances.
SPAC will also expand its free education programs, which are slated to reach more than 30,000 young individuals across the greater Capital Region throughout the year. This includes the upcoming first-time Festival of Young Artists event from 2 to 5 p.m. on June 3 at SPAC’s grounds.
In another effort to attract audiences, Sobol cited that SPAC will continue to make ticket affordability a cornerstone of the center’s vision for the future with discounts for students, seniors and multiple ticket buyers. In 2017, SPAC introduced a reduced $30 amphitheater ticket and the results showed that 50 percent of the purchasers at that level were also firsttime SPAC ticket buyers.
During the meeting, the SPAC Board of Directors welcomed new member David Jersen of Jersen Construction Group, while naming John Nigro as a trustee of counsel.
In a financial overview by SPAC treasurer Anthony Ianniello, he reported that the venue’s total operating income was $9.25 million, higher than the operating expenses at about $9 million, leaving a net operating surplus of approximately $250,000.
In the board meeting prior to the big annual meeting chief financial officer Jay Lafond reported that SPAC’s finances are steady. “Everything is very solid,” he said. “Our balance sheet and cash position are strong. Our revenue streams are forming as expected. In fact, our ticket sales are above expectations at this point early on, so we’re very pleased about that.” Additionally, he said expenses so far this year are holding true to the budget, and the organization’s endowment has risen to $7.7 million, a big jump from where it was last year at $6.75 million.
Following the annual membership meeting, attendees enjoyed a reception in the Jazz Bar at the Hall of Springs. More information on SPAC and its upcoming season are available online at spac.org.