Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., spent $50 million on renovations, including outdoor dining.
REPORTING FROM SAN ANTONIO — Sports and performing arts have a lot in common. That fact, was proven once again at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where management developed a tiered premium experience which includes club seats, just like arenas and stadiums have.
The club seat experience is tied to a seat but includes privileges in private lounges attached on either side of the seating area on the mezzanine level. Called the Lan & Tam Airlines Club, members enjoy food and beverages and two big screen TVs on either end. On one side, the production on stage is screened. On the other side, whatever other sports or entertainment events that might be of interest are broadcast. The clubs are open throughout the performance.
It has been a huge hit, according to Scott Butler, Wilson Butler Architects, and Kelley Shanley, CEO of the venue. One reason is that the club seat appeals to what Shanley’s marketing department refers to as the “dragalong.” That is the spouse or friend attending an arts performance at the behest of his or her significant other though they might prefer to be elsewhere, perhaps at a Miami Heat basketball game also playing that night.
Shanley said he knew it was a winner when he overheard a husband who stayed in the lounge after intermission to watch sports from an easy chair with drink in hand wave off his wife’s concern he wasn’t watching what he’d paid good money to see. He informed her that he’d sat through the first half, he got that, and now he’s was catching the game. “I’m getting my money’s worth,” he said.
It was a scary proposition to introduce the club seat experience to the arts, Shanley admitted. They took every precaution, with a sound and light lock between the spaces keeping the experience inside the hall and in the club appropriately elegant. But it is also more accessible to a segment of the population they had not been serving.
Expectations are different today, Butler added. Wilson Butler has a vast experience designing theaters for the cruise ship industry. “You have to have drinks in the theater,” he said. “And people are going to use phones during a performance. We have to figure it out. People want the social experience.”
Shanley added that “an improved experience” was the number one consideration in all aspects of the $$50-million renovation of Broward Center.
“The Straz Center is going to do the same thing,” declared Lorrin Shepard, CEO of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa, Fla., during the session on “Emerging Initatives. Populated by Shanley and Butler, along with Shaun Albrechtson, programmer & production manager, Parker (Colo.) Arts, Culture and Events and Jessica Rowe, property manager, Omaha (Neb.) Performing Arts, the session was all about improving the fan experience, an issue also prominent for arenas and stadiums. The occasion was the Performing Arts Managers Conference here March 7-9.
The Broward renovations included other premium seating options. People can join the Intermezzo Lounge for $35 added on to any ticket. Beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres are included. In addition, high-end donors gain access to the best seats and the Leiser Room.
Besides added revenue and new experiences, the premium seating program has the added benefit of taking people out of the lines in the main lobby. There are 70 club seats, 70 Intermezzo Lounge members and 100 donor lounge members. Add the new restaurant on site and wait times in the lobby are greatly reduced. “It has done wonders for our per caps and for serving people’s needs,” Shanley said.
Abdo New River Room had been a black box not in demand. The room was between the two big theaters and was admittedly neglected. Renovation added restrooms and turned it into a cabaret dinner theater.
All of the renovations answered the big question: How do you double the original investment without adding a theater? Shanley said food and beverage sales are triple what they were four years ago. Corporate memberships have quadrupled.
“The club level is now 65 percent subscribed for our Broadway series. We’ve expanded our school offerings with 20 new classes for the general public,” Shanley reported.
Selling that idea was the challenge for Shanley and Butler when they undertook justifying $50 million to renovate a performing arts center that cost $50 million to build in the first place.
There was no question the 20-year-old venue needed a refresh, but sizewise and businesswise, it was still on the mark. With a 2,500-seat and a 600-seat theater and a multipurpose room, Broward Center was averaging 700 events and 700,000 visitors annually.
“You can’t raise money to replace the electrical switches,” Butler lamented. Without a new theater, they had to be creative about the upgrades and the impact they would have. “It’s about selling more tickets and making more money,” Shanley said.
They didn’t survey the public for suggestions but rather went about imagining “what we should do that they’ll like if we do it,” Shanley said. “And then sell the idea to donors.”
Their strategy was to look beyond the walls, consider the first (and last) impressions, increase the time of stay and grow the spend and “unpack the content.
A hard look at what needed to be done resulted in a lot of little things. They already had repeat visits, great programming and a great sense of place. They just needed to tweak it all.
One of the first improvements was reimagining the “forest in front of the building,” which had become so dense over the years you couldn’t see the theaters for the landscaping.
Butler said they created 20 vignettes of improvements and donor opportunities. “We never talked about the fact we were building new offices. No one would want to pay for that, but it had an education building beneath it,” Butler explained. They looked at improvements that enhance the audience experience, enrich arts in education and engage the community.
To enhance the experience, they opened a wall and created an outdoor bar. They had always had a porch but now, with food and drink, people populate the porch. It is also a sign that something is going on inside. They no longer wanted a sterile façade.
Little things like doubling the width of circulation at the front door drop off by moving valet parking greatly improved traffic flow. The marquee had been above the Au-Rene Theater and the rest of the theater drop-offs left people in the rain, so they extended the marquee.
Over the years, portables and temporary tables had popped up all over the lobby, so they made the bars a simple entity, lining them up, which not only improved traffic flow in the lobby but made it easier to see the shortest line, thus sped up service.
The changes did not intrude on people’s memories, but it improved the experience.
Improving the experience was also the motivator behind a reimagining of the Parker (Colo.)
The 450-seat PACE (Parker Arts, Culture and Events) Center, Parker, Colo., had a horrible honeymoon. For the first year and a half of operations, nothing worked.
“It was common to see 15 percent capacity for a season and a half,” said Albertson.
That’s why the turnaround was so astonishing. Now, in year four of operation, they are averaging 82 percent capacity, a 46 percent renewal rate for memberships and even better sales for their partners, including theater, 96 percent; dance, 96 percent, and music, 94 percent.
The secret sauce was a matter of honest analysis of the problems — inconsistent programming, inconsistent quality, failure to differentiate — and aggressive action to fix it. “We presented what everyone else presents and no one came,” Albertson recalled.
To develop trust, they increased production values and encouraged collaboration among the disciplines and organizations using the venue. “We co-produced to improve the quality and technical elements,” he said.
All agreed that a lot of it has to do with the team you hire. Rowe addressed creating that magic kingdom in real life.
“Hire people for attitude, not experience,” Rowe said. “Embrace the worst situation and turn it into a positive.” She noted Southwest Airlines is good at the latter, recalling a pilot was late for a flight she was on and instead of apologizing to the passengers waiting for the pilot so they could take off, flight attendants blamed the pilot and plotted with the passengers to let him have it when he finally did arrive.
Rowe also believes everyone should give their venue the White Glove Patron Test. “Any ledge someone can reach should be clean,” she said.
Omaha also adopted a “You Rock” program, recognizing employees for going above and beyond and drawing a name at the end of each month from the group of overachievers to receive a $25 gift card. “Embrace your team members,” Rowe said. “Don’t be their wall, be their window.”
Interviewed for this story: Scott Butler, (617) 720-7127; Kelley Shanley, (954) 468-3281; Shaun Albertson, (303) 805-6800; Jessica Rowe, (402) 871-7961