At the mayor's debate last night, there appeared to be some discussion as to the level of support that the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium has for the proposed event center. Discussion centered around a letter and who had signed it.
Attached please find the letter that was sent to the mayor and members of city council and included in a package for the Sept. 29 meeting of city council.
The letter clearly states that the Auditorium supports the proposed event center and it is signed by both myself and the president of our board of directors, Dwight Gessie.
Prior to its release, the letter was discussed at both the TBCA executive meeting on Sept. 18, and at our full Board meeting on Sept. 25.
It was approved at both meetings.
The Auditorium has always been a strong supporter of the proposed event center having previously issued a press release last year to that effect. That continues to be the position of both myself and our board of directors.
Bob Halvorsen,
General manager, Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
The following is a copy of the letter mentioned above, dated Sept. 18, 2014:
Mayor and Members of City Council
RE: Proposed Thunder Bay Event and Convention Centre
We would like to take this opportunity to provide some additional information regarding both the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium (TBCA) and the proposed Thunder Bay Event and Convention Centre (TBECC).
TBCA has been very supportive of the proposed TBECC, and expressed same through a previous press release. That continues to be our position.
TBCA started off as a vision over 40 years ago. After a long and tumultuous series of debates, the decision finally went to a plebiscite that narrowly won (50.1% to 49.9%). Think what this City would have missed had this narrow victory gone the other way. Since our doors opened in 1985, we have provided close to 30 years of service, had close to 4 million patrons through our doors (135,000 average per year), and have produced close to 4000 events (130 average per year).
We not only manage your City owned venue, we actively promote (search out, purchase, promote and assume risk) on 30-50 major shows per year that would not happen otherwise. This includes the annual Thunder Bay Blues Festival. While our gross operating budget has doubled from $2.5 million in 1986 to close to $5 million in 2013, our City subsidy of $685,000 has remained almost exactly the same. Citizen Satisfaction Surveys continue to put us near the top. Your Auditorium has now become one of the City’s greatest assets.
We believe that the TBECC will become another great asset to the City. While there could possibly be some overlap in programming that could negatively effect the operations of the TBCA, it is our position to continue to focus on the opportunities that could be provided and to use them to overcome any potential challenges.
Furthermore, the opportunities are not limited to the TBCA but more importantly to the City as a whole. Opportunities such as new events, new revenue streams, downtown revitalization, economic spin-offs, etc. are all to be expected and are certainly more important than worrying where a particular show might end up.
To that end, TBCA has had numerous discussions with the City Manager, Tim Commisso and the General Manager - Community Services, Michael Smith. More discussions are planned. The Phase 3 Feasibility Study states that “impacts could potentially be addressed through a collaborative and cooperative approach which sees the two facilities working closely together, particularly with respect to programming, setup, ticketing, marketing, etc.” It is this type of process that will ensure the success of both venues, and that decisions made will benefit the City as a whole.
Sincerely,
Robert A. (Bob) Halvorsen,
General Manager
Dwight Gessie
President, Board of Directors
Thunder Bay Community Auditorium
Editor's note: Mayoralty candidate Shane Judge told the audience Wednesday night that a couple of board members have give him campaign donations and are urging him to fight the proposed event centre because they are worried about the future of the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium. Mr. Halvorsen acknowledged individual board members were free to their own opinion on the matter.
