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Collaborative Effort Needed For Rio Grande Theatre In Las Cruces

  Commentary: The story of the Rio Grande Theatre, saved by the community, lovingly restored and now managed by the Doña Ana Arts Council for more than a decade, is an inspiration that demonstrates the deep commitment of the community to support and nurture local arts and culture.

No one should be surprised that to those who invested tremendous effort, time and money to bring the theater back to life, it is a source of great pride.

I don’t think the City Council means to forget this, but I was appalled at the seeming lack of respect and dismissiveness of DAAC as the current manager, which was evident at the council work session.

Despite the best efforts of DAAC, the Rio Grande runs at a deficit — like many similar operations — so it appears the new City Manager Stuart Ed is preparing to hand the management over to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, without even a discussion with DAAC.

City Council has not voted on this proposal, yet Mr. Ed and especially Mr. Phil San Filippo of the CVB gave the impression that jettisoning DAAC and transferring Rio Grande management wholesale to CVB is a done deal.

The city owes a great deal to DAAC for taking on this difficult obligation.

Many people consider the theater a local gem and not merely an “asset” that should be moved from the city’s loss column to the profit side. Yet sadly, regardless of who is managing it, the financial success of the theater will remain marginal until the theater can sell liquor and there are places for theater-goers to eat and drink downtown.

A collaborative effort between DAAC and CVB would be much more productive and respectful of DAAC, while still giving CVB the opportunity to develop a realistic plan to make the theater self-supporting.