The Roanoker - January/February 2015 - 63

get: development, ticket income and tenant rentals in
the former high school in downtown Roanoke. Direct
government money is not forthcoming, but grants from
organizations like the Doris Duke Foundation and the
National Endowment for the Arts have been helpful.
The Jeff Center's bread and butter has been its Star
City Series, Jazz Series and Family Series, all of which
are programmed on a fiscal year, rather than a calendar
year. "Public and private support have stabilized," says
Pace. "We'll have the second half of 2015 booked early
in the year." jeffcenter.org/events/all

BERGLUND CENTER (FORMERLY ROANOKE
CIVIC CENTER)
After a record-setting 2013 (number of events, attendance, revenue), two major events were postponed
in 2014 and the civic center didn't make its budget.
Those events move into 2015, however, and the year is
looking up for several reasons, in addition to revenue.
Berglund Center Manager Robyn Schon is overseeing a major re-branding from its old identity. That
sponsorship is bringing in $1.75 million over the next
10 years, more than $300,000 of that up front.
"Not many major players have 'civic' in their names
any more," she says. "This will give artists and agents
a whole new perception of who we are and it will
raise our profile."
Scheduling the concert season is always tricky "because it is cyclical," says Schon. "We're coming out of
a slow period, but we are on the radar of the heavy
hitters."
Physical changes are coming with the re-branding
of the 40-year-old center. New seats, doors and a major paint job are scheduled. The center's budget of
$590,000 is "less than half what it was before Global
Spectrum took over the operations," says Schon, "and
with the new LED lights we're putting in, that bill
should drop another 35 to 50 percent." Schon says
that the national average for occupancy among civic
auditoriums is 65 percent, which is right where the
Berglund Center sits.
roanokeciviccenter.com

SALEM CIVIC CENTER
New Salem Civic Center Manager John Saunders
(who's been with the center for 31 years) believes the
head-turning growth of live performance venues in
the Roanoke Valley is a good thing, showing promoters all over the country that this is a place where
people do things.
"We fit very well together," says Saunders.
The Salem facility, built in 1967, has grown to include both the auditorium and two sports stadiums,
as well as other athletic facilities. It accommodates not
only trade shows and expos, a wide variety of music
THE

R OANOKER.COM

New Roanoke Symphony Executive Director David Crane: "We have had
the opportunity to be creative."

and a professional baseball team, but also a huge horse
show and one of the biggest fairs in Virginia. It is
home of the Blue Ridge Music Festival, which drew
12,000 people in 2014.
Not much will change in 2015, says Saunders, because the civic center's schedule is "stable from year
to year, which is what we want." The center's budget
has required about a $700,000 Salem City subsidy,
"but that doesn't include facility fees and admission
tax we pay the city," says Saunders.
"Ticket sales are starting to look better," says Saunders, "and ancillary sales - things like concert T-shirts
- are picking up, too. It's been slow, but it's coming
back." salemciviccenter.com

ROANOKE AMPHITHEATRE
Steve Buschor of Roanoke's Parks and Recreation Department says we'll have to wait a while to get a feel
for what's ahead for Roanoke's new $7.4 million amJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

http://www.jeffcenter.org/events/all http://www.roanokeciviccenter.com http://www.salemciviccenter.com http://www.THEROANOKER.COM

The Roanoker - January/February 2015

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