After its garbled graphics started resembling a malfunctioning ’80s videogame, the electronic marquee for the Savannah Civic Center has faded to black.
One might be inclined to think no events are being held at the downtown facility. And that is a problem, city officials say.
Some acts have been complaining about the lack of promotion for their events since the marquee went dark, according to a recent staff report to City Council.
And that is not the only amenity showing its age at the 41-year-old structure, which houses an arena, the Johnny Mercer Theater, meeting spaces, a ballroom and exhibit hall.
The city has almost $2.2 million in civic center repairs and upgrades included in its 2013-17 capital improvement plan.
On Thursday, the City Council will consider spending $68,865 to repair the marquee, $93,676 for 900 new chairs and four chair racks and $70,379 for a new loading dock for the Johnny Mercer Theatre.
That is on top of the $105,301 approved earlier this year to make concourse lighting repairs in the arena, upgrade ceiling tiles and demolish the old speaker system.
The expenditures come as the city makes plans to build a new arena, although the location and financing for the project remain in question.
Many of the replaced amenities and repairs will get plenty of use because it will be at least five years, thinking optimistically, before a new arena is built, said city spokesperson Bret Bell.
The city also intends to continue operating parts of the Civic Center after the arena side is demolished, including the meeting spaces, ballroom, entrance hall and theater.
The new chairs, which will replace worn and broken ones currently in stock, are used throughout the facility, in addition to floor seating in the arena. The new loading dock for the theater will not only replace a temporary one used now, but will also provide more space so more than one truck can pull up next to it.
The extra space will prove beneficial for loading large amounts of gear as the facility draws bigger acts, said Civic Center director Lamont “Yogi” Holman.
“If you can’t get it in fast enough, that’s an issue,” Holman said.
The electronic marquee was installed about 13 years ago, replacing a sign that had to be changed by hand. In order to prevent the marquee from malfunctioning in the future, a maintenance contract will be purchased. The first year’s service agreement is included in the pending purchase.
Located at the corner of Montgomery and Liberty streets, where traffic enters town from Interstate 16, the marquee’s appearance is important, Bell said.
“That is the welcome to Savannah,” he said. “It should look nice.”
FUNDING THE SAVANNAH CIVIC CENTER
The Savannah Civic Center operating budget is classified as an enterprise fund, which is financed primarily through user fees. Ticket sales and other revenue sources such as parking, concessions and rental fees, do not cover the total cost of operations, however.
Additional funds from hotel/motel and auto rental taxes, in addition to general fund subsidies, are used to make up the difference. The civic center has an operating budget of almost $3.5 million this year, of which about $1.4 million is expected to be covered by user fees.
The civic center is budgeted to have 88 ticketed events and 448 non-ticketed in 2013.