posting
05-29-2006, 10:56 AM
Large Venue Entertainment Centres - the view from elsewhere.
Does Kingston face similar problems in the future?
-- Kingston Electors
Lonely civic center needs 61 dates to fill the emptiness inside
The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia, May 28, 2006
Ralph Berrier
http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/berrier/wb/wb/xp-66971
Riffs, the regional music scene as heard by The Roanoke Times reporter Ralph Berrier, will appear weekly on Sundays.
So, is the Roanoke Civic Center half-full or half-empty?
Depends on if you're a sports fan or a concert fan. Where minor-league basketball and hockey fans see failure, local music fans see opportunity. Now that the Roanoke Dazzle has fizzled and the snake-bitten Vipers have succumbed, the civic center has 61 extra open dates on its calendar from next fall through spring.
Music fans dream about seeing some big-name concerts brighten a few of those dark nights. With more open dates and fewer potential scheduling conflicts, the hope is that concert promoters will see Roanoke as more than just a place to gas up the tour bus between Richmond and Greensboro.
The problem is, it probably won't be any easier to lure top talent here than it was before. Roanoke has the same building, the same market size and the same population demographics it had before, except with fewer entertainment options.
Civic center officials are working to fill those dates. They're talking to promoters about plotting concert tours through the valley of the Roanoke.
"Sixty-one dates around the winter months are a lot to fill," admitted Robyn Schon, the civic center's assistant director. "The good thing is that many of those are weekend dates, and they are very attractive to promoters. Every day we're talking to agents and promoters. From their perspective, they're pretty happy."
Don't plan on camping out for U2 tickets, however. The civic center can hold up to 11,000 people for a concert, but that's still considerably fewer than arenas in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte.
Then there is the gray-hair factor. Roanoke's median age doesn't tend toward the Generation X or Y level -- or even Generations W or V, for that matter --which is something promoters consider when they plan concert tours.
Sometimes it is difficult to persuade younger, hip bands to stop at the big, square building on Williamson Road.
"The 50-plus crowd isn't into a lot of modern rock music," Schon said correctly. The youth drain doesn't help when making the case to promoters that the Roanoke Valley will support a concert that features young rock bands or chart-topping rappers.
The lack of a modern-rock radio station also hurts the city's effort to attract current stars. The demise of Z-101 several years ago was a blow to the local rock scene, but that station never had the power to reach far enough beyond Roanoke's limits to equal the appeal of K92, WROV or Q99. A modern-rock station strong enough to reach the college students in the New River Valley would be a tremendous advantage in telling young people about cool things occurring in Roanoke.
Other obstacles hamper the civic center's efforts. In a strange twist, the loss of the Dazzle could actually hurt Roanoke's chances of getting more concerts. Roanoke's original deal with the NBA's minor league and its partner Clear Channel Entertainment was supposed to bring dozens of big-name concerts to the civic center, as well as other events.
Even though the deal never lived up to expectations, many famous performers did come to Roanoke as a result. Cher, Rod Stewart, Elton John, matchbox twenty and Metallica were a few of the big acts to play at the civic center, thanks to the contract. That deal is done, however, so the civic center can't rely on Clear Channel or the NBA to provide shows.
So, civic center officials are rolling up their sleeves and "strategizing," as Schon put it.
"We're getting our name out there," she said. "We're building and maintaining relationships. We want promoters to keep Roanoke in mind when they're routing their tours. Hopefully, with all these open dates, it'll be easier for them to make a decision."
And, hopefully, that decision will be, "Look out Roanoke, we're on our way!"
Does Kingston face similar problems in the future?
-- Kingston Electors
Lonely civic center needs 61 dates to fill the emptiness inside
The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, Virginia, May 28, 2006
Ralph Berrier
http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/berrier/wb/wb/xp-66971
Riffs, the regional music scene as heard by The Roanoke Times reporter Ralph Berrier, will appear weekly on Sundays.
So, is the Roanoke Civic Center half-full or half-empty?
Depends on if you're a sports fan or a concert fan. Where minor-league basketball and hockey fans see failure, local music fans see opportunity. Now that the Roanoke Dazzle has fizzled and the snake-bitten Vipers have succumbed, the civic center has 61 extra open dates on its calendar from next fall through spring.
Music fans dream about seeing some big-name concerts brighten a few of those dark nights. With more open dates and fewer potential scheduling conflicts, the hope is that concert promoters will see Roanoke as more than just a place to gas up the tour bus between Richmond and Greensboro.
The problem is, it probably won't be any easier to lure top talent here than it was before. Roanoke has the same building, the same market size and the same population demographics it had before, except with fewer entertainment options.
Civic center officials are working to fill those dates. They're talking to promoters about plotting concert tours through the valley of the Roanoke.
"Sixty-one dates around the winter months are a lot to fill," admitted Robyn Schon, the civic center's assistant director. "The good thing is that many of those are weekend dates, and they are very attractive to promoters. Every day we're talking to agents and promoters. From their perspective, they're pretty happy."
Don't plan on camping out for U2 tickets, however. The civic center can hold up to 11,000 people for a concert, but that's still considerably fewer than arenas in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte.
Then there is the gray-hair factor. Roanoke's median age doesn't tend toward the Generation X or Y level -- or even Generations W or V, for that matter --which is something promoters consider when they plan concert tours.
Sometimes it is difficult to persuade younger, hip bands to stop at the big, square building on Williamson Road.
"The 50-plus crowd isn't into a lot of modern rock music," Schon said correctly. The youth drain doesn't help when making the case to promoters that the Roanoke Valley will support a concert that features young rock bands or chart-topping rappers.
The lack of a modern-rock radio station also hurts the city's effort to attract current stars. The demise of Z-101 several years ago was a blow to the local rock scene, but that station never had the power to reach far enough beyond Roanoke's limits to equal the appeal of K92, WROV or Q99. A modern-rock station strong enough to reach the college students in the New River Valley would be a tremendous advantage in telling young people about cool things occurring in Roanoke.
Other obstacles hamper the civic center's efforts. In a strange twist, the loss of the Dazzle could actually hurt Roanoke's chances of getting more concerts. Roanoke's original deal with the NBA's minor league and its partner Clear Channel Entertainment was supposed to bring dozens of big-name concerts to the civic center, as well as other events.
Even though the deal never lived up to expectations, many famous performers did come to Roanoke as a result. Cher, Rod Stewart, Elton John, matchbox twenty and Metallica were a few of the big acts to play at the civic center, thanks to the contract. That deal is done, however, so the civic center can't rely on Clear Channel or the NBA to provide shows.
So, civic center officials are rolling up their sleeves and "strategizing," as Schon put it.
"We're getting our name out there," she said. "We're building and maintaining relationships. We want promoters to keep Roanoke in mind when they're routing their tours. Hopefully, with all these open dates, it'll be easier for them to make a decision."
And, hopefully, that decision will be, "Look out Roanoke, we're on our way!"