Winter Garden City Commission approves Garden Theatre business plan

The Garden Theatre soon could be welcoming guests once again. 

The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved Thursday, April 24, a business plan for the beloved theater.

Winter Garden Economic Development Director Marc Hutchinson said when the city reopened Garden Theatre to fulfill some commitments after it closed in October as well as provide holiday programming, people were questioning whether the theater would be opened permanently. 

“We had to sort of make a declarative statement and assertion around that the city remains committed to the theater as an ongoing mainstay for the public benefit and enjoyment of our community,” he said. 

Appetite for performing arts

With Garden Theatre still being under city control, city staff started doing research on the desire for a community theater, the benefits and a potential business model to permanently reopen the theater. 

Hutchinson said the Garden Theatre can connect to the community through desirable programming, capture the historic downtown charm and appeal to art lovers who appreciate small town charm. 

Nationally in 2022, the arts brought in $151.7 billion in economic activity, with $73.3 billion coming from organization spending and $78.4 billion coming from audience spending. The arts also created and supported 2.6 million jobs in 2022. 

The performing arts also “build a sense of community” and can have economic impacts to a downtown area like Winter Garden as merchants will plan activities and promotions around theater activities and programming. 

In Winter Garden, the median age is 39, and the median household income is $106,000. In Central Florida, 2.8 million people attended an in-person arts event, with an average spending of $45 per person per event. Nationally, 32% of people attend live performances. 

“There’s an appetite for theater, an appetite for the arts, as well as there’s also a means,” Hutchinson said. 

File photo

The business plan

The city will be searching for a third party company to make the business plan a reality. 

There are three different business models the city could have considered in regards to Garden Theatre. 

Hutchinson said the best model for the city is a presenting business model, which involves a moderate risk of medium financial investment, some artistic and content control, high community and audience engagement, and lower requirement for artistic time. The plan also would include limited rentals. 

The plan consists of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department maintaining control and working with a third-party company to help with management of the facility and scheduling events.  

Hutchinson said the Parks and Recreation Department has the infrastructure to be able to house and operate the theater while serving the community.

Having a third-party company involved also would mean the company would assume a portion of the risk and a split of revenue proportionate to the investment expenses. Initially, the city will likely have a one-year contract with the third-party company. 

Hutchinson said to be successful, the theater will need to have a healthy balance of a variety of programs, including concerts, dances, movies, private and public rental events, and camps and classes. 

The Parks and Recreation Department will prioritize city events at the Garden Theatre when scheduling events. 

Because of the work that it takes to put on plays and the high production costs, Hutchinson said the city doesn’t plan to have community plays performed in Garden Theatre until the second year. The exception would be school plays. 

City Manager Jon C. Williams said the city has received several requests from schools to perform in Garden Theatre, and the city would work with the schools to schedule performances. 

“We’re building in sufficient amounts of time to get those details worked out,” he said. “This is a new business venture for us so there’s going to be learning for us along the way.”

City Commissioner Colin Sharman said the city always can adjust the offerings at the theater as staff learns what the community would like and what can be done most effectively. 

The proposed business plan included potential rates for the theater’s auditorium, technicians, custodial and insurance. It also had rates for a la carte services, such as renting microphones, a projector and screen bundle, audio and/or lighting design and equipment, ticketing services, stage hands, and marquee. 

The next step for the city is to seek out a third-party management company partner. Hutchinson said there currently is not a company in mind to fulfill the partnership. 

The city also will need to assess programming and related operating requirements, and assess and cure any renovation needs before launching the reopening of Garden Theatre. 

Williams said the city is hopeful Garden Theatre can be reopened by the summer so summer camps and classes can be offered for children.