Chatham-Kent's Capitol Theatre, November 13, 2015 (Photo by Jake Kislinsky)Chatham-Kent's Capitol Theatre, November 13, 2015 (Photo by Jake Kislinsky)
Chatham

College Returning Capitol Theatre Operations To CK

After almost fours years operating the St. Clair College Capitol Theatre, the college is planning to return all management and assets to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

BlackburnNews.com has obtained a letter sent to theatre staff stating, "Due to the recent financial position of the college and the financial statements in respect to the Capitol Theatre operation, the college has sent a letter to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent advising them of the decision."

CK Councillor Michael Bondy confirmed the college's decision Saturday evening saying it's disappointing the theatre hasn't turned out to be a profitable operation for the college.

"It's something that's really out of the control of the municipality," he says. "This decision was made to purchase, fund (the theatre) a long time ago, many councils prior to this one. Today's council is trying to manage this asset in the best way that we can for the taxpayer."

Control of the downtown Chatham theatre will return to the municipality as of March 2016, and CK is committed to operating the theatre until 2027.

According to the letter, CK staff has been directed to examine all potential alternatives in the continued operation of the theatre.

"The municipality will have to look at options as to what to do. Do [we] operate the theatre or do we have, again, a second party operate the theatre for us?" he says. "If some theatre company believes they can do that at a profit, well of course, we would engage that."

In 2012, the college entered into an agreement with the municipality to manage all aspects of the Capitol Theatre. Part of the agreement included the option to return management back to Chatham-Kent.

Bondy says prior to the agreement in 2012, the annual operational cost to run the theatre was estimated between $600,000-$800,000.

"I think there's a reasonable end to this and I think we will find it, and there will be a lot of really hard conversations, a lot of thought about what we're doing, and I think we will get there," says Bondy.

The theatre is expected to continue to operate as usual with shows still being booked into next season.

Ron Seguin, the vice president of international relations, training and campus development at St. Clair College, declined to comment on the decision to cease operations at the theatre. He says an official announcement from the college related to the issue may be released during the week.

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