Editorial: Old venue proves value for money

One of my best memories of growing up was performing with my kapa haka group at the Municipal Theatre in Hastings, which is now known as the Hawke's Bay Opera House.

I dare say most people who grew up in the Bay had the chance to be part of similar performance groups, choirs and drama productions staged at the historic venue, which survived the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake and has been a cornerstone of the community for many years.

I've also had the opportunity to return to the theatre to watch my nephews and nieces perform with their kapa haka groups and I even remember shouting my mother a night out at the venue to see a country music spectacular where the star of the show was music stalwart Burt Hura.

In more recent years I have worked at the opera house as part of the media team covering the New Zealand Waiata Maori Music Awards and it's great to be able to show off a top-class venue to various international performers in town for the occasion.

Rewind to 2006 when the ageing complex was earmarked for a major redevelopment to the tune of $12 million, headed by its owner the Hastings District Council.

The move inspired complaints and please explain requests from ratepayers worried a hefty investment into a single complex would not turn a passive, or non-earning entity, into one which could pay its way or even turn a profit.

Those people will be happy to learn that the opera house has exceeded its budget expectations for the first half of the current financial year, and it's not the first time it's reported a positive return.

It's latest report shows the opera house declared a net surplus of almost $92,000 which was $64,000 ahead of its projected budget.

The figures were presented to the council yesterday, by its general manager Roger Coleman and the opera house board chairman John Buck.

The opera house has managed to turn over positive figures despite hosting fewer events, 49 in 2011 compared to 59 the previous year. And it's done this my by attracting "higher revenue" earning projects as well as watching how it operates internally.

Some of the big events from late last year included Rugby World Cup events, the international Takitimu Festival, DHB Innovation Awards and the West Side Story series, to name a few.

The people behind the Hawke's Bay Opera House company must be given some applause of their own for their work in recent years.

And Mr Buck notes the recent addition of businessmen Chris O'Reilly and Bruce Mactaggart to the board, who have brought substantial experience to the opera house operations.

Mr Mactaggart's background in entertainment is "beyond what we could ever understand", Mr Buck said to the council.

Mr Mactaggart is the co-owner of the Auckland Vector Arena and is proving to be a valuable asset, particularly when it comes to looking at building on the activities the venue could host.

One of note Mr Buck brings to the attention of the council, is the premier of the Flight of the Conchords tour, which was achieved through the work and connections of Mr Mactaggart.

And Mr Buck promises us "there is lots more to come" from the opera house over the coming years.