A financially squeezed community performing arts center on the South Coast has been saved from closure, thanks to a private concert venue operator. The operators of a chain of clubs and concert venues, including Agoura’s Canyon Club, have reached a deal with the City of Oxnard to operate the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.
Lance Sterling is with Sterling Venue Ventures. Sterling says taking over management of the half-century old complex in Oxnard, including its 1600 seat theater, is a good fit for his company and the community.
It’s an apparent solution to the crisis facing the complex, which includes the theater and facilities for smaller scale events. The City of Oxnard decided that the more than half century old Oxnard Performing Arts Center had to become self-sufficient. The city had subsidized it, but the city council cut funding as part of efforts to deal with an ongoing city budget crisis.
For the last few months, it’s been managed by the non-profit Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation. Carolyn Mullin is Executive Director of the Performing Arts Center Corporation. She says the idea is that Sterling will handle the concerts, and the non-profit will manage the meeting rooms.
Mullin is hopeful that more concerts will bring more visibility to the performing arts center. The goal is for more than 50 events the first year, and 100 a year in the second. The big goal is to make the facility self-sufficient. The hope is that this new public-private partnership will include some cultural events, and also set the stage for generating revenue to improve the facilities.
In addition to the deal with Sterling Venue Ventures, the Oxnard City Council this week approved a recommended rate structure for rental of the facilities, to help with efforts to generate needed dollars. Mullin says the bottom line is the Oxnard Performing Arts Center will remain open, and there are already a number of new events on the schedule.
