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Town Support
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Contacting Us
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Phone:
(970) 481-6630 Email:
info@estesparktheater.com Mail:
SOPA
PO BOX 3077
Estes Park, CO 80517 Please contact us if you have any comments, questions or would like to make a tax-deductible donation of any size. All input is valuable!
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 The mission of SOPA is simple and straightforward. SOPA is committed to establishing a performing arts center worthy of the rapidly growing arts community in the Estes Valley.
The vision of SOPA is to serve the community, to speak the languages of all performing arts, to engage people more deeply than performances alone are able to, in order to impact citizens in lasting ways that increases the value of the performing arts in their lives.
Those of us who live in Estes Park, the most beautiful mountain town in America, are being presented an opportunity to participate in the building of a performing arts center, a real working theater, for everyone - young and old - to enjoy. It will be a theater we can attend to be inspired, uplifted, to laugh, to cry, to experience the full range of human emotions.
SOPA, Inc is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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It is important to note that this effort by SOPA is fully endorsed and supported by the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park. By working in collaboration, we all win!
"Moving forward, positively...with a common goal."
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AMS Summary Report
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Estes Park Performing Arts Center
Updated Operating Projection Summary
December 9, 2008
By AMS Planning & Research
User Needs Analysis:
Local Non-profit groups interested in using the Performing Arts Center included Estes Park Music Festival; Estes Park Repertoire Theater; Oratorio Society, Mountain Men, Mountain Aires, Estes Park Chorale; Scottish Highland Festival; Earthwood Galleries; Chamber Music of Estes Park; Estes Park Sings; Preludio Music and Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies.
Crucial to the overall support of the PAC is the need for extensive bookings in the summer and shoulder season. Regional universities expressing an interest in using the Performing Arts Center in the summer months included the dance and theater programs from the University of Colorado Boulder and the Little Theater of the Rockies and School of Music from the University of Northern Colorado.
Other groups indicating an interest included Mickey Burdick who operates the Butte Opera House in Cripple Creek and the Park Village Playhouse. There is also indication that other quality professional theater groups will want to book shows in the PAC.
Groups who indicated no current interest in the venue indicated they had sufficient performance space already or that the size of the proposed center was either too large or too small for their use.
Projected Schedule of Use:
Looking at rentals by local non-profit groups that responded to the survey, AMS projects a low of 51 and a high of 87 performances per year. This does not include any commercial or presented events.
Rentals by regional universities, primarily during the summer months, would range between 112 and 209 performances.
Operating Projections:
AMS projects that the Performing Arts Center will take approximately three years to reach a stable performance schedule. Assuming the projections are accurate, the Center will require a subsidy during the start-up years (which has already been promised by the Town.) The assumptions used in developing the operating projection include:
| Theater seating capacity |
433 |
| Square footage |
18,600 |
| Fringe benefits for employees |
30% |
| Concession contribution margin |
35% |
| Local non-profit performance rate |
.75 per seat, avg. % sold, 55% |
| Other non-profit performance rate |
1.25 per seat, avg. % sold, 60% |
| Commercial rental performance rate |
2.00 per seat, avg. % sold, 80% |
| Convention meetings/lectures use |
2.50 per seat, avg. % sold, 70% |
Utilization Summary:
| Total rental events |
256 |
| Total rental charge |
$107,655 |
| Town sponsored sales |
32,735 |
| Concession sales |
34,144 |
| Box office |
31,705 |
| Chargebacks (labor, custodial fees, equipment rental) |
33,280 |
| Town subsidy |
217,000 |
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| Total Operating Revenues |
$456,519 |
| Salaries, taxes & benefits (Fulltime manager, operations/technical director, and administrative assistant/reception/box office. Part-time bookkeeper and marketing manager) |
$210,800 |
| Other Staff (Stagehands, front of house managers, production assistants, etc.) |
51,280 |
| Overhead (telephone, postage, printing, licenses, equipment repair, supplies, etc.) |
25,925 |
| Programming (artist fees, production costs, marketing) |
48,600 |
| Occupancy (janitorial services, utilities, insurance, etc.) |
96,534 |
| Expense contingency 5% |
21,657 |
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| Total Operating Expenses |
$454,796 |
Potential Economic Impact (based on national averages):
| Direct spending (salaries, local purchases, etc.) |
$807,413 |
| Audience expenditures (average $27.79 for 48,777 attendees) |
1,355,513 |
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| Total Economic Impact |
$2,162,926 |
Recommended Next Steps:
Establish an endowment to subsidize rentals by local non-profit groups.
Download the complete 12/9/08 AMS Report (.pdf)
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SOPA Board and Capital Campaign Committees
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SOPA Board of Directors | Robert Gunn, Chairman | | Jerry Rutledge, Vice Chairman | | James Broomfield, Treasurer | | Lynette R. Johnson, Secretary | | Christopher Wood, Campaign Coordinator | | Greig Steiner, Naming Rights/Contract Coordinator | | Gail Upp | | Stanton Black |
SOPA Campaign Steering Committee | Mayor Bill Pinkham | | Julie Phares | | Roger Thorp | | Mark Elrod | | John Todd | | Jerry Rutledge |
SOPA Building/Design Committee | Roger Thorp, Co-chair | | Mark Elrod, Co-chair | | Bob Gunn | | Linda Langer | | Mac McCord | | Tim Phillips | | Richard Putney | | Mark Richards | | Walt Steige | | Nancy Stevens | | Greig Steiner | | Ray Young |
SOPA Publicity Committee | Julie Phares, Chair | | Joan Allen | | Tom Anderson | | Gary Dempsey | | Bill Ferguson | | Doug Fox | | Lora Gibbs | | Wayne Groome | | Kris Hazelton | | Lynette Johnson | | Kay Kirkman | | Lee Lasson | | Nick Molle | | Barb Schwartz | | Christopher E. Wood, Campaign Coordinator | | Kay Kirkman, Grant Application Writer |
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 SOPA is currently engaging supporters towards progress in all phases of this effort, including fund raising, theater and site design, naming rights and theater use rights.
SOPA is working to raise a total of $5,000,000 for this project through various means.
Estes Park is rich with talent, an yet there is no home for the many gifted. Theater instills a greater sense of community, providing educational opportunities in communication, camaraderie, and an outlet for the talent of all ages. Theater is a dynamic asset.
This venue will host plays, musicals, summer repertory theater, band, orchestra concerts, theater workshops, small ensemble performances, piano recitals, quartets, jazz festivals, and various social functions to name just a few.
Estes Park will be blessed for years to come with an arena for holding these events. Our children, the future, would be enriched by a wide host of programming available to them. The site is adjacent to the Estes Park school campus and thus will create added synergy and opportunities for all.
The arts give us all a greater appreciation of life and enhance our overall quality of life. This center will also enrich our community by new opportunities, raising the level of the performing arts, and exposure to new experiences. It will create a new night life, which can benefit local businesses, and will become a family resort destination, resulting in longer visits and providing for exciting activities in Town all year round.
Your pledges are the building blocks - one brick at a time. A theater for our community is an investment in our future. The Supporters of the Performing Arts cherish your pledge. The stage is set and it is curtain time. Places everyone!
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Fine Arts Guild Gives $25,000 for New Theater - February 27, 2007
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| Fine Arts Guild Gifts First Large Donation of $25,000 |
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