Draft Coffs Harbour Cultural Plan 2013 - 2016 - Coffs Harbour City ...

Agenda - Ordinary Meeting 22 November 2012 - CITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Attachment 3
The completion of the Pacific Highway dual carriageway at least as far Grafton to the
north and Kempsey to the south. Not only could Coffs Harbour people visit regional
facilities more easily, but those regional residents, who may currently avoid going on the
highway at night, could be encouraged more readily to attend evening performances in
Coffs Harbour;
Consistent sellout seasons at the Glasshouse in Port Macquarie, suggesting unmet
regional demand;
Consistent sellout seasons at the Jetty Memorial Theatre and the CHEC theatre, again
suggesting unmet demand; and/or
The initiation of commercial development plans for a large scale convention centre,
where significant non-cultural use of a large theatre could be assured. This type of
development is the most likely factor to change the business case for a large theatre.
Nevertheless, the strong community interest in a performing arts centre warrants ongoing
monitoring of opportunities. An important aspect of this will be the regular analysis of
information about the achievements of facilities which are broadly comparable to those
which are envisaged here. This task will, however, be made more difficult by the
comparatively fluid nature of ideas for a performing arts theatre in Coffs Harbour eg should it
be 600 seats or 1000 seats, and why?
As well as financial information, benchmarking of data from existing facilities would be
useful to help the community focus on exactly what can realistically be achieved for a
community with such a facility. Such metrics might include:
tickets issued versus tickets available for performances;
tickets issued versus size of LGA population;
other cultural activities eg education programs, artist in residence programs; and
non-cultural usage.
The set of facilities with potential to provide relevant information include:
Glasshouse at Port Macquarie;
Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre; and
Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre.
Selection of facilities for comparision will need the co-operation of their management as
some may prefer to keep all or part of this information confidential.
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