New Zealand / Local Democracy Reporting

More visitors for Blenheim’s theatre, but it’s been ‘hammered’ by costs

12:34 pm on 2 December 2024

Marlborough Civic Theatre Trust chief executive Joseph Casalme says ticket sales in Blenheim match the national average. Photo: SUPPLIED: BRADEN FASTIER/MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS

More people are walking through the doors of Marlborough's main theatre, but it has not been enough to keep the books in the black.

One of the major expenses for Marlborough's ASB Theatre is the insurance bill, which has jumped from $11,000 to $210,000 in the past 20 years.

That meant the Marlborough Civic Theatre Trust in the last financial year had to use $100,000 from its reserves to keep the business afloat. This year, "it's going to be worse than that", trust chairperson Kevin Moseley said.

Moseley, the theatre's chief executive Joseph Casalme and the trust's treasurer Anton James presented the latest annual report for the trust at a council committee meeting on Tuesday.

While the trust had $1m in its reserves, and looked like it had "money in the tin", Moseley said they "really needed to do something". He encouraged councillors to tour the theatre to understand "where this money disappears".

The trust received a $390,000 annual grant from the council, a sum that had remained unchanged since it moved into its new site on Hutcheson St. It received a $250,000 boost during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Between the insurance and between the price of electricity, which has gone up by $45,000, we are seriously eating into that $390,000 that we get from council, which was predominantly to help us fund community stuff within the theatre," Moseley said.

Photo: SUPPLIED: LDR

James told the council the year "wasn't great", because of the loss, although it was not as bad as first thought because of "good work" to manage costs.

The trust had forecast a $212,000 loss, but that landed at $78,000.

"I have had the nickname the Grim Reaper before, but this is the reality of where we're at. We've been hammered by external costs which we can't really control," James said.

Part of the reason for the rise in insurance premiums was down to the value of the building. It cost $27m to build, and was valued at $30m at the time.

The latest valuation had put building replacement at $50m, James said.

But being next to the Taylor River was something insurers "didn't like", he said.

Water had been known to seep through the basement of the main theatre in the past.

"We've got the same pressures as everybody else and even what we foresee as coming in as income, it is going to be down ... because there isn't as many events happening and times are tough."

A subtle 5 percent increase in prices, the first increase "in years", would not really show until the 2025-26 financial year because events were booked so far in advance, he said.

However, the naming sponsor for the theatre would be up for renewal next year. It meant ASB would no longer hold that sponsorship which James said could present an opportunity for the theatre, but equally, economic conditions were challenging.

Casalme said the theatre was booked for more than 120 days, excluding preparation days and pack-up.

"We have more than 11,000 people who participate or benefit from the arts events held at the theatre and we have a visitor and guest attendance of over 34,000 at large events at the theatre," he said.

Photo: RICKY WILSON/MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS

In the last few years about $180,000 had been invested in new equipment and more would be needed soon as some of the equipment had come from the old theatre.

"For ticket sales, we're happy to report that we have reached the standard average of more than 20,000 tickets per year," he said.

The theatre had always tried to strike a balance between commercial use and community use, with $300,000 worth of subsidies handed out in the financial year.

Marlborough mayor Nadine Taylor told the group the council was facing the same insurance challenges.

"Your challenges are huge, you've done really well to achieve that million-dollar reserve," Taylor said.

An increase in the council's insurance premiums in July added 0.64 percent to the rates rise this financial year.

Taylor suggested the council, which was doing its own work with insurers, should connect with the theatre to see if they could help.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.