Music hall revenues up in '05

Restroom and dressing room renovations are 99 percent complete.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Packard Music Hall's revenues were up almost 13 percent in 2005 compared with the previous year, according to Christopher Stephenson, hall manager.
Revenues rose from $231,434 in 2004 to $261,420 in 2005, he said after Friday's meeting of the Packard Park Board of Trustees, which oversees the park and the music hall within it.
Stephenson attributed the increase to new events at the hall, such as dance competitions, and increased food and beverage sales. The building was in use 286 days last year, compared with 274 in 2004, he said.
Revenues include income from hall rental and stagehand fees and ticket, food and beverage sales. The revenue figures do not include the city's subsidy to the hall, which averages about $250,000 a year.
Stephenson also announced that a $146,354 project to renovate five backstage dressing rooms and men's and women's public restrooms off the hall's main lobby is 99 percent complete.
That project is being funded by a $100,000 state capital appropriation secured by state Rep. Randy Law of Warren, R-64th, and $46,354 in private donations. This state grant is the first state money the hall has ever received.
Improvements
New flooring, drop ceilings, lighting, sinks, toilets, showers, mirrors, counters, windows, stage video monitors and painting were among the dressing room improvements designed to make the auditorium more attractive to potential users and performers.
"They were embarrassing," before the renovations, with water leakage and peeling paint, asbestos flooring and nonworking showers, Stephenson said of the dressing rooms.
The restroom improvements included painting and new doors, windows, lighting and mirrors. Also included was new anteroom furniture, wallpaper and carpet in the ladies' room.
Later this year, the hall will be eligible to use a $1.7 million federal appropriation secured by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, in the 2006 Transportation Act for replacement of the hall's heating, ventilating, air conditioning and electrical systems, and possible public elevator installation.
"It's all original. It's very inefficient," Stephenson said of the HVAC system in the 50-year-old building. "We're way beyond the life expectancy of air handlers and boilers and chillers."
milliken@vindy.com