Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Fine arts t Township i fears loss i By Amy Bedenbaugh The Township Auditorium's director is concerned aooui me revenue uic piaimcu USC cultural arts center might take away from the Township. The Township, owned by Richland County, has remained self-supporting through revenue from admissions, concessions and parking, director Lee Herbert said. With a capacity of 3,300, the Township has provided facilities for orchestra, theatre and dance productions, wrestling matches, rock concerts and evangelistic shows Herbert noted. POOLING OUT the performing arts, however, would make it difficult for the auditorium to provide a public facility at no cost to the taxpayers, he said. "With cultural arts being taken away, I question if we could break even. It would cut into us deeply." Herbert said the Township and the Coliseum have complemented each other in the kinds of performances they offer. "The Coliseum has things of a spectacle nature. We don't butt heads," he said. BUT THE arts center, with a, proposed seating capacity of 2,300, is "getting into the realm of duplicating existing facilities," he said. Of all then Derforminc arts shows in the Township last year, only 13,700 people attended. "The Township has basically never seen 2,300 people at a performing arts show," he said "Is Columbia large enough to support two of us?" Chris Vlahoplus, USC executive vice president of administration, says Columbia has room for a new cultural arts facility. "USC IS probably the only major university in a capital city in the country without a first-rate performing arts center," Vlahoplus said. The theatres would still survive, as well as the Township and Coliseum, he said. "There are some things you'd do in the Longstreet Theatre that you'd never do in this new setting. The Coliseum's great strength is volume. We wouldn't put on a i D g*? Continued from page 1 Liuaiu Castles said, "Every telephone call I get s umbia ought to have an arts center," but s think the County ought to sink $8 million ir which they "won't own a brick." She said she thinks the city and the sta \ should put money into the center before the c and suggested a public referendum on the ct appropriate. um nernuon Doin stressed u posed to the center, only to the bond issue. "I can't vote in favor of it today. . . .We km the ramifications." Councilman Barber said he felt he was beii prove a plan on its face rather than on its n Council members on both sides were co the council that will take office in January. 5 n/l ninot inn iifit h t Un motVl hnrt_ \i I I IV^ I 1 1!?, Willi lliv. 111V.1IIUV.I IV.VI I ' Supporters of the bond issue, like Conn said they didn't believe the new, predominan council would approve of the idea. "IF WE vote against it today, we will kill all hope; there'll be no arts center," Elliott USC President James Holderman, howev I center will be built with or without the coi although he hopes council would support t "The university is going to build a fine art every reason to believe now that with the w< ship we have established with the County C be optimistic," Holderman said in a Mond He said it was important that the univer the next few weeks if the county will m already donated to the center. ? * . USC HAS already come up wun i H center, in part from an anonymous dona coming from a Florida businessman. (The bond issue for the arts center will t reading at Council's meeting in two wee ten ten Re a \uditorium of revenue rock concert in a performing arts center. Each place will find out what it can do best. The more opportunities you give people, the more success you have," he said. The center would have better acoustics, increasing the community's ability to attract large-scale performing groups, Vlahoplus said. COMMUNITY GROUPS can stage performences in the new cneter. "After all, they put up half the money," Vlahoplus said. Funding for the $15 million center, to be lcoated on Greene Street between Assembly and park Streets, would corne from an $8 million Richland County bond issue and from a $7 million anonymous donation to USC. Richland County council is still con sidering the bond issue, which must have three readings before pasage. The center will include two rehearsal areas, music warm-up rooms, dressing rooms and a "green" room, a waiting room for performers before they go onstage, said David Rinker, USC vice president for facilities planning. An office complex on the Park Street side would be used for administrative purposes by community cultural groups, Rinker said. WITH PHIIMTV fnnHc rlpcion anH fnn. struction of the center could be completed in about two years, he said. One County councilman has opposed the new center, questioning its availability to the community outside USC. "Cultural organizations in Richland County and the colleges should be able to use the facility for whatever the cost of normal expenses would be," said Councilman Alfred Butler, an Allen University professor. He said a seat tax should be imposed and dona tions raised so the burden of paying off the bonds won't al! fall on the taxpayers. (JSC's School of Music could benefit from the center's acoustics, director William Moody said. MUSICAL GROUPS have performed in faciliteis "ill-suited" for music, such as the Russell House and the Booker T. Washington Auditorium, Moody said. "Performance of music in a hall I Support awail ays that Col- Jft * aid she didn't 11 PP i a building of " te legislatures By Laura Anne Boozer rounty should, Richland County's fine arts niter would be well on its way to becoming according to County Counc man James Leventis. ?ey are not op- Although the proposed c( Herndon said, faced opposition in the past t)w too little of plans have set the ball roll Leventis said he hopes ig asked to ap- everything settled by the fir: nerits. year. ncerned about The current plan is to locat some members million arts center at Asser 3 share ideas.. Greene streets, next to the cilman Elliott, coliseum, witn university tly Republican managing it and providing center's construction costs. I all possibility, THE UNIVERSITY'S sha said*. money will come from an an er, said an arts Florida businessman. The r jnty S Support, will rnmp from a rnnnfv hr?r he center. boncj was given firs :s center. 1 have approval at last night's Cour irking relation- cjj meeting. ouncil, we can Leventis said for as long as lay interview. remember the Council had 1 sity find out in sidering the idea of a fine ar atch the funds ^ut just never came into p "Within the past eight million for the Leventis said,"we've really g tion reportedly about it and done something going." ?e given second ks. THE BOND issue will hi voted on two more times to bi lityorpiP1 r! ? lv>< kB ' '* * * pSji . j r jai.-. .: , A tf. ?. i 1^1 :i ^ ? - 'j ?- ' r ai i * Sill i3 Trdf LW acoustically designed for music is an experience every musician should have," he said. Moody said the music department would not have classes in the new center. The center would be primarily useful for music, but USC's theatre and speece department could use it for dance, Chairman Thomas Cooke said. THE SIZE of the stage would give the per formers more room and allow the use of elaborate scenery, Cook said. ts bond vote iiiigi may yci i center is a reality, "Within the past eight ye ii chair- We've really got serious ab ;nter has it (the fine arts center) ingUrand done something to get to have going." st of the - James Leve e the $15 ? nbly and ficial. The main drawback to the i Carolina is that Council may have to raise workers perty taxes to pay for the addition half the million required to build the ce Many councilmen don't agree tl the most practical way to covei ire of the needed funds. lonymous A problem could arise when the emainder council members take offici id. January, but Leventis said he dc t reading believe this will happen. itv Cmm- "I'm 100 nrecent sure about t think that it should all be settled t ; he could first of January." ?een con- If the issue doesn't receive fin< ts center, proval before the New Year, it w [ay before the new council membe years," 1985. ot serious 5 to get it IF IT does pass, the new mer will have to come to an agree about operations, decide about th we to be of bonds for construction and sti ecomeof- to avoid a tax increase. ? dream? The proposed center will ou. the block that University Inn is now on. The black areas in the map are USC-owned parking areas which would be available to center natrnnc JTH MAIN V& ?< <*4 \ju?f M..< C.IV1DLT BE^ i ; fc?w ^ Coliseum ' ' j rc?l c/3 > few ? : * ,' ' ' ; %??; DC '- \ _,;, . ,K<? IK _ I [COLN I | In the past, USC's two dance productions, the Fall Dance Concert and the Spring Ballet, have been in Longstreet or Drayton Hall. Plays need a "more intimate setting," however, and the department is looking to the Drayton hall renovation to fulfill its needs for performances and classes, he said. "Drayton Hall is inadequate now. The equipment and size of the stage make it an inadequate laboratory for the teacing of elaborate design and technical theater," he' said. :ounty backing rr-i . r . 1 r 1 _ r a. I i ne request ior me iunuing 01 inc arts center came at a bad time for jarS Richland County. Along with the $8 . million it will cost to build the art center, the council is planning a $11-12 and million downtown library branch, $3.5 m'Uion for county road and sewer development, and a $3-4 million expansion of Riverbanks Zoo. The center will not be solely for use ntIS by use students and faculty. It will be open to the public . issue Councilman A.T. Butler had beei pro- opposed to the proposal, saying he al $8 wanted to be sure other colleges and nter. universities should have access to the us is center as wen. r the UK SAIl) when the Carolina Coi; new iseum was built, USC said other j in schools could use the facility, but that esn't has not been the case in practice. But at last night's Council meeting, his, I Butler said his questions had been ly the satisfied after meeting with USC officials over the weekend. il ap- Butler was among four council ill go members to speak in favor of the bond rs in issue to raise the County's proposed $8 million contribution to the 3>15 million center. nbers Council members Candy Waites, :ment W.R. Rogers, and James Elliott also e sale spoke. Leventis, who is chairman of ill try Kicniana county council, aici not speak out in support of it.