Theatre gearing up for challenge from planned events centre

Cork Opera House is gearing up to meet the challenges it will face from the city’s proposed events and conference centre.

Damian Wallace, the chairman of the board of management, said theatre bosses were working on a three-year strategic plan.

He urged City Hall, which is overseeing the event centre selection process, and which is also the largest shareholder in the Opera House, to be mindful of the impact the events centre would have on the theatre when it is making a decision on who should build it.

Speaking yesterday at the 55th AGM of Cork Opera House, he said theatre bosses were very mindful of the changing entertainment choices that people would have in Cork over the coming years.

“The advent of a major convention centre in Cork, while very welcome from a city point of view, will pose a major challenge for Cork Opera House,” he said.

“It is imperative that the city council are mindful of this fact when finalising the process.”

The council launched a second phase of a tender process in August to secure the development of a multi-functional events and conference centre on Leeside.

Two developers — Owen O’Callaghan who has planning for a venue on Albert Quay, and Heineken/BAM, which has planning for a venue on the former Beamish and Crawford site — are competing for a €14m kick-start fund.

It is expected that the preferred tenderer will be announced in November or December. Both developers have said they could have their venues operational within about two years of turning the first sod.

But Mr Wallace said the Opera House was already gearing up to face this challenge. It has secured a grant from the city council to upgrade the theatre’s ‘back of house’ area — but more needs to be done.

The board also intends to seek funding for a rolling capital programme over the next few years to ensure other upgrade work is carried out.

Mr Wallace said the ongoing support of the Opera House’s key stakeholders would be crucial over the coming years.

He said the board would continue to make the appropriate decisions to allow the company progress and develop, and to build on the trend of recent years with improved financial figures, the elimination of the revenue deficit, and ongoing repayment of its loans.

Despite the arrival of a new events centre in the city over the coming years, Mr Wallace said the theatre would continue to make the appropriate connections and changes to its business.

“Our strengths lie in our ability to be flexible and adapt quickly to change,” he said.