We’ve covered the Burnsville PAC’s poor lineup and management for several months now. We’ve talked about how the entire Burnsville Performing Arts Center is hemorrhaging funds and is quite unlikely to meet the revenue projections but what we really haven’t covered is whether or not Burnsville should continue to pay VenuWorks to run the Performing Arts Center the way it has been for the last few months.
Over the next three months (April, May, and June 2009), VenuWorks has the Proscenium Stage (the main 1000 seat theater) booked for only six events, only 1/3 of which are not local. While I have already mentioned that George Jones is little more than a washed up joke and Ralphie May participated on Last Comic Standing twice (not winning either time) and the last time was nearly 5 years ago, I neglected to say that VenuWorks must have gone to great lengths to secure such incredible local talent as the ever-so-hideous Lorie Line who is known mainly for her Christmas music and the Dakota Symphony. I continued to be in awe of the talent that VenuWorks has put in place to get people interested in the PAC.
The City Council must receive a monthly update as to revenue situation at the PAC and they must know what the lineup is right? I really don’t understand how after three continuous months of an empty building they aren’t doing more to ensure that VenuWorks is working to remedy the situation quickly. When the City Council was told that Ralphie May, George Jones, and Lorie Line were coming to perform did they seriously not go “who the fuck are those people?”
According to my limited understanding of the VenuWorks contract there are two very obvious routes that the Burnsville City Council could pursue to get the PAC management working better:
1. At the monthly meetings mandated by the VenuWorks contract, the City Council should demand that there be more acts booked and more recognizable names show up on the calendar. Bring in a panel of random citizens from across the South Metro and have them sit down with the City Council and VenuWorks as the upcoming acts are read off. If more than 50% of the people ask “who the fuck is that?” then it might not be someone that’s worth bringing to the PAC.
2. The management has known about this venue for a long time and it has been open for months yet nothing worthwhile has yet to come up. Ask VenuWorks to immediately replace all PAC management staff with new blood to try and jump start the PAC into acceptable shape again.
If the Burnsville City Council continues to do nothing, the PAC will become the laughing stock of local government, something which may even rival or *gasp* beat out the ridiculously managed Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.
Burnsville residents, what do you think about the management of the PAC? Should the City Council demand that VenuWorks replace all PAC staff with more competent individuals? Should more citizen input be included when VenuWorks is booking acts? Perhaps you have other possible solutions which you’d like to share. Whatever it is, go ahead and comment on, I’d love to hear what you have to say!
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April 18th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I’m afraid that a change in PAC management will do very little in solving the problem. It all has to do with economics and the design of the PAC. For example, take the name of George Jones. He was a big name in country western music forty years ago yet that name is worth a certain amount of money at the “gate” but for me to pay $90 which includes Ticketmaster charge, facility charge, plus printing my own ticket charge is way too much. Maybe if I was a George Jones ‘groupie” it would be a different story. The design of the auditorium plus the size does not provide for a variation in ticket prices. At least a concert goer has a choice in ticket prices if he is attending an event at Target Center or the Xcel.
April 18th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
not being a resident of burnsville or lakeville, can someone speak to the difference between Lakeville’s “Arts Center” and Burnsvilles “Performing Arts Center”?
How is the Lakeville facility doing compared to Burnsville? And one thought is how do you gauge such amenitites within a city. Certainly they can’t become the Guthry Theater over-night. Are such facilities expected to “make money”? Or is the problem with the Burnsville facility, that not only is it losing money (while politicians pretend otherwise) but it also doesn’t seem to be providing anything the residents of Burnsville want, or will utilize?
April 18th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I don’t know any details about Lakeville’s performing arts center, other than it cost a lot less to build due to it being a renovation of an existing facility.
Looking at its calendar, it doesn’t seem to be getting a lot more use, although they’ve actually had acts I’d want to see there once in a while (if I knew the Bad Plus were going to be there tonight, for example, I’d have been tempted to go). However, I think Lakeville’s doesn’t have as many people managing it and probably costs less to maintain on an ongoing basis.
Burnsville’s PAC schedule has been uninspiring so far; the only things that would have interested me have been the Dakota County Symphony and probably Chameleon’s shows. Would it kill them to book acts that are relevant?
April 18th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Mike, there is no comparison. Lakeville’s art center is a renovated church. I have been there a couple of times for the grand daughters dance recitals. I enjoyed the performances and the venue very much. On the other hand Burnsville’s art center is a one thousand seat auditorium with and additional 150 seat black box theater for the Chameleon theater group. It also contains additional rooms for meetings and group activities. Mayor Kautz, council members Dan Gustafson and Liz Workman went against the recommendations of the consultants and voted to build this at the cost to the taxpayers of 25 million dollars including the parking deck.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
A few comments to the above:
Will, in some respects, I understand your point, however small venues can succeed. As an example, look to the MN Zoos summer concert series. The problem is not really the venue in my opinion, its the complete lack of awareness of the PAC and the horrible promotion of the concerts. As an example, look to Mikes comment.
Mike, the Lakeville and Burnsville centers are totally different takes on community entertainment centers. The one in Lakeville is a renovated church. I have not been inside, but it appears to be a church from the outside. I dont know what the cost was, but it has to be FAR less than what Burnsville spent. The Burnsville PAC is a 20+ Million dollar entertainment center. Its a beautiful facility that should be an incredible spot to host intimate concerts, plays, etc.
I dont know if you can replace the management company at this point, because I dont really know if they are the problem. As stated in the blog above, it seems that the City Council is letting them get away with the crap they have been putting forth, so who do you blame?
The Burnsville PAC is a state of the art facility, and with the proper promotion and some people really willing to work thier asses off to make it work, it could be a really special place. But right now its light years away from that, and some promotion company in Iowa is not the answer to making this happen.
April 19th, 2009 at 8:02 am
Even though I don’t think the PAC should have been built in the manner it was, I agree with Chad in that it has a lot of potential if managed right. It’s there now, so they need to make the best of it.
Physically, it has a lot of advantages over the Zoo ampitheater — it’s indoors, closer to the interstate, probably has better equipment and tech, and even now still has more stuff closer to it (restaurants, hotels, etc.) than the Zoo, and hopefully will in the future if the development situation gets better. But they have to book shows in there, and it has to be things people will want to see.
And frankly, the lineup needs to consist of fewer old white people, to be blunt — they’re not the only demographic down here.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:38 am
while i can’t comment on the b-ville pac, i can comment on the zoo. the last few years i believe all the shows were sold out. from delbert mcclinton to keb ‘mo. we live within shouting distance of there and catch some of the sounds. i guess my two and 1/2 cents would be would you rather have gone to the old met stadium, or the hhh dump, whoops ,dome? i’ll take the zoo!
checking ticket master for pac venues’
4/26 dakota valley symphony’s music of the valley!
5/10 lori line,
5/15-16 sal demillo,
6/5-6g. jones
April 19th, 2009 at 9:38 am
whoops, hit the wrong key!!
nothing posted for the zoo yet.
bb
April 19th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I don’t think I’d want to see a concert at the Zoo ampitheater in January, though.
April 19th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
BB – while I understand what you are saying about Met stadium vs the metrodome, I dont know if that comparison applies to the PAC vs the Zoo.
What they are doing at the zoo is wildly successful, and even some of the lesser known events sell out, however I dont see any reason that the same thing could not happen at the PAC. Its a small, intimate venue. Its easy to access, comfortable, and supposed to be acoustically wonderful. Regardless, thats a question of taste, and its not related, because they dont put on any good concerts at the PAC. The fact that people who read and post on this blog dont know the difference between the Lakeville Arts center and the Burnsville PAC tells us that they have done an awful job of promotion. I work in Woodbury, and I would be willing to bet that I could ask 50 people in my office if they have heard of the PAC and all of them would say no.
They should be bringing in big names to kick the place off, and they should be promoting it shamelessly with fluff pieces on every channel. Kare 11 News should have someone out in front of the place talking about how its the great new face of entertainment in the suburbs as people walk out of a Elton John/Billy Joel concert. A week later another station should be doing the same fluff piece as people walk out of a Jonas Brothers concert. It should be a 2 or three month blitz of big national names alternating with big local names. In addition, get something locally acclaimed similar to Triple Espresso or Tony and Tinas Wedding and have it run regularly as well.
If they want the place to succeed, they are going to have to work at it. They are going to have to sell some big names to get them to agree to perform here. Someone may need to call in favors, etc. I cant believe there is not a music promoter in the city at one of the clubs (Fine Line, 1st Ave, Etc) who would not want to step up to a bigger venue and have the chance to really make a name for themselves.
This place could succeed with the right group of really driven, passionate people running it. But if its run as an ext of the local govt, where nobody really cares because the taxpayers will foot the bill if it looses money, then its going to turn into one big sad joke.
Sorry for the rant. It just drives me nuts that they built this place and now they are busy running it into the ground already.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
chad, that was a good rant, don’t apologize.
tim, if i see you there in january, we’re both in trouble.
bb
April 19th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Chad, I do agree with you about advertising and landing some big names ie, Billy Joel etc. With that said, “Big Name” performers require large gate proceeds. and require a guarantee. The Zoo amphitheater is state funded. With the PAC the Burnsville taxpayers are footing the entire bill. So IF we have to start throwing MORE tax money at this “monument” hopefully there will be mass protests in the streets. The city council is planning on making cuts in services now in an attempt to balance the budget. We can’t afford loosing police, fire or other needed services for this “monument”.
April 19th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
If word gets out about the lack of drive thru food options available at the PAC, soon they won’t even be able to book the Redneck shows!
April 20th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I think these are all good points. The Zoo series, despite its smaller size, still has the ability to draw some current acts. If the PAC is going to lose $1M this in operating expenses alone this year, which it is on track to do, at LEAST lose the money actually DOING something. The poor calendaring of acts has me wondering what the hold up is – is it at the city level or is it an issue at VenuWorks? The silence from Mayor Kautz is deafening – as it has been either Craig Ebling of the City or Wolf Larson of VenuWorks taking the questions from the press. It just has me wondering how she is going to spin this snafu. I also heard a piece this weekend on NPR that concerts and theatre are supposed to be doing somewhat ok in this economy, since people are not going on vacations, but are spending their entertainment dollars locally.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Interesting… It does seem that Burnsville intends for their facility to be quite different from what Lakeville is making of theirs. (and yes, it’s an old catholic church building… though it had significant renovations)
Is it a public entity? Perhaps someone with some experience the area of entertainment and booking should led them a hand, or at least take a look at what they are doing to provide some useful suggestions.
One suggestion is to focus their efforts from using a thinking process. This can help them come to terms with:
1. What to change
2. How that change should look
3. How to cause the change.
http://www.ciras.iastate.edu/library/toc/thinkingprocesses.asp
April 26th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
The Zoo just announced their summer concert line-up. Here’s a link to the Star-Trib article. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/43581747.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ
Includes the Gear Daddies, Soul Asylum, BoDeans (my daily Cliff Clavin/useless trivia moment: I can remember when they were “Da BoDeans”, playing at the Sunset Bowl in Waukesha, WI), Los Lonely Boys, Keb Mo, and Dave Koz, (all of which I would pay good money to see), and more. This is a 1520 seat theatre. A shout out to Wolf Larson/VenuWorks/Burnsville PAC: Here’s a thought: Maybe you should talk to Sue McLean and see how this this done? I bet she booked these acts without going to the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Conference in New York this past January, which you missed in favor of being at the Burnsville Talent Show, which, I think due to the free tickets courtesy of Target, was the last time the 1000 seat theatre was officially “sold out.” If I was being REALLY cynical – I would think that maybe VenuWorks was deliberately tanking this thing, in the hopes that B’ville will sell the facility to VenuWorks at a loss, after which VW will (miraculously) step up and start scheduling events.
April 27th, 2009 at 8:27 am
We are planning on seeing Los Lonely Boys and possibly Paolo Nutini. There are about a dozen acts I would see if time and money were not an issue.
Its a great lineup. Cant help but think Whit is on to something with the VenuWorks conspiracy theory.
Just checked out burnsvillepac.com. Wow, some great new shows scheduled.
International Festival of Bursville – as near as I can tell this “festival” features a cuban salsa/congo band and an Authentic Spanish Flemenco band/dance troupe. While this looks like fun, what exactly makes it international? Maybe a latin festival? And is this the type of event ($5 and $10 tickets) that is going to pay for a $25 million dollar facility? I wont bother with the math, but I think if they had two sold out shows per week for a month, they would not even cover the monthly operating expenses.
Next up: Comedian Sal Demilio. Perhaps he is great, I have no idea.
Also, various acts by the Chameleon Theatre Circle. Is our Mayor a part of this theatre circle? Or perhaps she has a close friend or realtive who runs it? They may in fact be great, but I cant help but the total lack of other events has basically provided this local theatre group with their own 25 million dollar facility. They must be thrilled.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Sal Demilio tickets in Lansing and Toledo for recent shows: $8, plus you get to see two comedians for that price. Price in Burnsville for Demilio alone: $20 (before fees).
April 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Now, in an attempt to make the PAC calendar seem more…well…eventful, VenuWorks has “filled” every date in July and almost all of August with an art gallery event. Pay no attention to the fact that there is NOTHING scheduled for EITHER of the theatres during all of July and August, but, hey, the lobby will have a bunch of art in it. BTW, seeing the art is apparently free, so there is no revenue coming in for those months.