Item A-Cultural Services Update - Laserfiche WebLink

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Other Background Information Due to economic downturns, other types of financial challenges face the Cultural Services Division: · Patrons have fewer discretionary dollars to spend. This impacts not only the production revenue (e.g., rent and PUF), but also ancillary revenues such as parking and concessions, and Transient Room Taxes. · Resident companies are being challenged to balance their own budgets. · Promoters are asking venues to share more and more of the financial risk to get their business. · More patrons attend free outdoor concerts in surrounding communities and gambling casinos that can pay top dollar for acts, driving up costs and reducing artist availability. · Resident Companies can set their dates two years in advance while national touring events decide only two to six months in advance, causing greater potential for scheduling conflicts. The Future The Executive Director of Libraries, Recreation, and Cultural Services has challenged Hult Center staff to change the way it does business, so a 5-year growth plan for the Hult Center and for Cultural Services is being created. · While continuing to contain costs, staff must find ways to present more events; build new and larger audiences; and increase the sale of tickets, concessions, parking, and gift items. · Staff must explore new product possibilities. · Staff must start making cultural tourism a priority, and help host more and larger conventions. · Staff must generate the dollars needed to renovate the Hult and to deal with the structural challenges that prevent reaching new levels of profitability. · Staff must make sure that downtown continues to become an arts and entertainment center. · Staff must be more than just a landlord, and take calculated risks to dramatically increase levels of income. · Staff must function not only as a performing arts center, but as a community center available to all citizens. · Staff must use all its programs (events, grants, summer park concerts, etc.) to support arts education and diversity, and collaborate with all parts of the community to reach out to more audiences. · Finally, staff must work together to assure that the Hult, and all the arts in Eugene, will flourish over the next 25 years. Timing This item is scheduled to coincide with the Hult Center's 25th Anniversary. OPTIONS Not applicable. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Not applicable. SUGGESTED MOTION Not applicable. L:\CMO\2004 Council Agendas\M040512\S040512A. doc