----------------------------------------------------- OCTOBER 25, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Fort Wayne News Sentinel (Indiana) http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/4368378.htm Box-office blues: Local arts groups, entertainment venues suffer dramatic downturn in poor economy. By William Carlton There's no way a concert by a classic-rock supergroup like Yes should not sell out quickly at the Embassy Theatre, even with top tickets priced at $67. So why - with only five days remaining before showtime - are there still 1,000 unsold tickets at the 2,400-seat theater? "People have less money to spend," the concert's promoter, Don Kronberg, is discovering. "I need to sell a brutal load of tickets," lamented the owner of Nitelite Promotions. "It's a bummer if I don't, because it will be the first and last Yes concert in Fort Wayne." Lay much of the blame on the curb of Wall Street. Plunging stock prices, poor corporate profits, dismal returns on investments and high anxiety over job security are making local arts and entertainment officials sing the bear-market blues. Concert ticket sales are down. Ditto, club attendance. Increasing numbers of would-be ticket buyers at Memorial Coliseum are being told their credit cards are over the limit. At the same time, huge losses are piling up in the investment portfolios of arts groups and the deep-pocket donors who give them grants. "I've lost my job" is becoming a familiar reason why the Fort Wayne Philharmonic isn't selling as many concert subscriptions as it used to. Nightspots no longer so hot "It's not pretty in the city right now," said Stan Liddell, owner of Piere's entertainment complex in the Marketplace of Canterbury. "Our business is down about 5 percent in terms of bodies through the door, which is not as bad as other venues. Nationally, club business is down 30 percent, according to what we hear from national bands that play here. We're letting ladies in free on Thursday nights and running 50-cent drink specials." At Broadripple Place, the weekend crowd isn't what it used to be, said manager Kyle Bunch. "We'd have 600 people on a good night. We're down about 25 percent. It's a combination of a downturn in the economy and a saturation of local clubs." Smaller clubs such as Columbia Street West on The Landing are not hurting as much. "There's always some crisis going on, but everybody still has that last buck to buy a beer," said owner John Freistroffer. "We're cutting-edge affordable as it is, so there hasn't been a big change in our bottom line." Endowments, grants hurt The bottom line on Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne's investment portfolio showed a $250,000 loss during the last financial quarter, reports President Geoff Gephart. "It's the worst we've been hit." The hit was inflicted on Arts United's endowment fund, which has dropped in value in recent years from $6.5 million to $4.8 million. Those funds are for long-term capital needs, not daily expenses. Still, even daily expenses are getting harder to meet. Arts United's annual fund drive, which has attempted to raise about $1.4 million each of the last few years, came up $17,000 short this year. Money raised in the drive provides vital operating support for all of the city's major arts groups. A big reason for Arts United's fund-raising woes is last year's sale of Lincoln Re to Swiss Re, Gephart explained. When Swiss Re took over, it called a halt to Arts United's workplace campaign, which involved several hundred employees, according to Gephart. Many employees were let go and the new owner did not have a policy on contributions, Gephart said. "That was the big hit for us," Gephart said. "We're optimistic about the new ownership. They've agreed to help us out. We may have a workplace campaign there when our next fund drive begins in February." A spokesman for Swiss Re would not comment about company policy on workplace campaigns. Not as much help for arts groups may be forthcoming from such major grant-givers as the Foellinger Foundation. Due in large part to the stock-market debacle, the foundation's net assets dropped from $197 million to $157 million over the past two summers, reports foundation President Cheryl Taylor. It's too early to tell what impact those losses will have on new arts grants, Taylor said. Betty Fishman, executive director of Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery, is worried about losing grants. "Foundations and corporations can't give what they don't have, and we rely on them to underwrite our exhibits. So far, so good. Lincoln Financial Group gave us $6,000 for next year's National Print Exhibition." Fishman is concerned as well about declining contributions from older Artlink members living on fixed incomes. Last year, about 100 of those contributors gave $50 or more each. Next year? "We're hoping for the best." Ticket sales are sliding Christopher Guerin, president of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the city arts group with the biggest budget, said the fragile economy "is not helpful, that's for sure. Subscription sales are down by a few hundred. It's part of a national trend. People are finding it harder to write a check for a season's worth of concerts. We hear a lot of gloom and doom when we call people to buy subscriptions. They say they've lost their job, or are worried they might lose it." The orchestra's single-ticket sales are holding steady, Guerin notes, and his office is redoubling efforts to boost group sales to families, organizations and businesses. The Philharmonic's endowment fund also has suffered big bites from the bear market. Two years ago it was valued at $9.5 million; now it's down to $8.5 million. At the Fort Wayne Civic Theatre, season-ticket sales are steady but single-ticket sales are down, said Executive Director Phillip Colglazier. "We don't know how much they're down because our audit isn't complete, but the single-ticket sales decrease is noticeable. We're not too worried because we have a strong season for sales potential and our ticket prices are very affordable. I think we are addressing the single-ticket decline in the right way - offering more shows people want to see." Even ballet students are feeling the pinch. "We normally award eight to 10 scholarships a year by drawing on the interest from our scholarship fund," said Fort Wayne Ballet artistic director Karen Gibbons-Brown. "This year, the fund hasn't generated any interest. We'll only be able to find extra money for two scholarships this year." Big acts, small response At the Embassy Theatre, walk-up lines for early ticket sales have grown shorter, observes Executive Director Lori Lobsiger. "In the past, when tickets went on sale for a hot concert, we'd have 500 people show up. Now we see maybe 400." Lobsiger is concerned about Embassy patrons getting gouged by $4 buckets of popcorn, $25 T-shirts and other overpriced merchandise promoters try selling to offset the rising cost of talent. "One promoter wanted to hawk $3 balloons in the aisles during a children's show. I said 'no.' We're not the circus, and besides, I don't want our employees to have to knock balloons off the top of the dome that floated loose from a child's hand." Memorial Coliseum has a string of concerts scheduled after the expanded arena reopens next month - Creed, John Mellencamp, Michael W. Smith, Martina McBride, Aerosmith. None has sold out. "Money is tight in our marketplace, and guarantees to artists keep going up," observed General Manager Randy Brown. "How much money can the consumer spare? Two Creed tickets will cost $100, and then you have the cost of a dinner, baby sitter and parking. You have to budget your entertainment dollars today more than before." Signs that people are having a harder time making their budgets aren't hard to find, Brown said. "Our box office reports increasing numbers of people who order tickets with charge cards and get rejected because they have exceeded their credit limit." Despite the grim economy, arts and entertainment officials remain optimistic for the long term. Coliseum expansion plans are on schedule for the Nov. 9 grand reopening. Piere's just invested about $90,000 in a new club, The Zone, with a room where dancers can boogie in biodegradable foam. "Let's hope the worst is over," the Philharmonic's Guerin said, with fingers crossed. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com