Reps from St. Clair College say the decision to be rid of Chatham's Capitol Theatre came down to dollars and cents.
Vice President of International Relations, Training and Campus Development Ron Seguin says recent financial pressures have prompted the college to re-evaluate its assets.
"When you run an educational institution, the non-core business items get looked at first. With the recent financial figures that are associated with the theatre, we've decided we can't sustain the annual deficits."
Seguin adds those deficits come in at around $250,000-$300,000 yearly. But he acknowledges that, for the theatre business, the Capitol Theatre does better than most.
"Most municipal theatres run at deficits and run with subsidies. We just got to a point where all the other financial pressures affecting the college pointed us towards making this decision."
Those associated pressures stem from a lack of provincial funding. Seguin says colleges are funded based on growth grants. While St. Clair College has maintained an enrollment of around 8,600 students, other schools, particularly in Toronto, have seen rapid growth. This has put St. Clair's cut to around $3 million.
The Chatham Capitol Theatre will be handed back over to the municipality on March 31, 2016.