Balboa Theater officials will pitch business plan

June Casagrande

BALBOA PENINSULA -- The Balboa Theater would pump about $3 million a

year into the local economy, according to a business plan for the

proposed theater that the City Council will review.

“This shows that the theater would be a real catalyst to the downtown

economy,” said Bill Wren, vice president of the Balboa Performing Arts

Theater Foundation, which is charged with transforming the decrepit

vaudeville house into a world-class performance venue.

The business plan was requested by city officials who are considering

quadrupling the city’s current $480,000 investment in the theater project

by purchasing the building next door at 111 Main St., where Orange Julius

is now located. The Orange Julius would be closed.

Before sinking between $1.4 million and $1.6 million into the

purchase, City Council members said they wanted to see a business plan

for the project.

On Tuesday, city staff will present to council members the plan, which

argues that even if the theater project falls through, the city would net

about $920,000 on their current investment in the theater by converting

it into a commercial property.

The plan also projects that it will take about three years for the

theater to achieve its full revenue potential of about $600,000 a year.

“I don’t think it’s a surprise to the city that it will be several

years before the theater is up and running financially,” City Manager

Homer Bludau said.

The plan shows that the theater will operate at a deficit of about

$150,000 a year, but Wren said that’s the way most theaters operate.

“Performing arts theaters lose money; they’re constantly in

fund-raising mode. That’s not unusual,” said Wren, who explained that the

disparity might be covered by fund-raising by the theater’s Divas

auxiliary group or through board members’ contributions, which are

expected to be about $125,000 a year.

The benefits of the theater, which would showcase drama, dance, music

and even film, extend far beyond its own books, Wren said. The 350-seat

venue would draw theatergoers from throughout the county, shaping the

economy and culture of the peninsula year-round.

“It fills a void in a county that does not have performing arts

theaters this size and with the facilities we will have,” Wren said. “And

it will pull spenders into the community year-round.”

The theater suffered its most recent setback when planners learned

that the building’s basement would require about $1.4 million in upgrades

before it could be used as space for dressing rooms and restrooms. To

fill that need, officials have proposed buying the Orange Julius

building, using a portion of it for theater space and selling the

remaining portion of the building.

Wren said the foundation’s goal is to have about $2 million in the

bank before starting construction. Right now, they have about $1.25

million. Until then, he said, they won’t make any predictions about when

the theater could be complete.

“We’re being very conservative,” Wren said.

Mayor Tod Ridgeway, who has helped push for the theater for years,

said he will have to examine the business plan closely before coming to

any conclusions.

“We have to look at this, using sound business judgment, as an

investment,” Ridgeway said.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .