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New Victoria boss  says finances stable

Ken Neufeld sets goals, declares ticket sales are ahead of last year.

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By Terry Morris, Staff Writer Updated 1:34 AM Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It didn’t take Ken Neufeld long to buy a home in Oakwood or sell his old one in Buffalo, N.Y. Both were completed in a 48-hour period.

He hasn’t had to hunt for a challenge as the new president and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation.

Newly released results for the Broadway Series, which were not made public under previous management, show ticket sales have declined for six years in a row. The combined operation posted a $2.3 million deficit in the year ending June 30, 2008.

Neufeld, 56, expressed confidence that finances are stable.

“The organization has been taking steps to ensure that,” he said.

The payroll is leaner than it was under Dione Kennedy, who left in November 2008 after four years as CEO. Staff has been cut by 25 positions, including 14 full time, to a total of 131 since 2007.

Subscriptions for the 2009-10 season, which is blessed with the blockbusters “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera,” are running almost 1,000 ahead of last year at this time.

Neufeld, who grew up in Toronto and has also managed theaters and a museum in Vancouver, B.C., sees the company as having a “unique business model” to ride out the recession.

“You are usually dependent on two streams of income: selling tickets and raising money. We also run a parking garage, restaurant (Citilites), catering operation, ticket center and we’re a landlord.”

The Arts Center Foundation owns and operates the Schuster Center, Victoria Theatre Association and Metropolitan Arts Center, which includes the Loft Theatre.

“I have never seen such a group of facilities in any community. They are all on one block here,” he said.

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I'm surprised they didn't mention the huge group of volunteers, without which the Victoria Theatre Association would have so much difficulty operating. Unfortunately, they seem to be driving away their younger volunteers. I was there for 10 years before I finally had to move on for reasons that I won't go into.

RacerX
11:18 AM, 6/30/2009

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My wife and I had subscriptions to the Broadway Series for many years and really enjoyed the shows we saw. We noticed that the quality of the shows dropped of significantly sometime around 2000 or 2001. We bought the Series tickets for a couple of years after that, hoping that the quality would pick up again to a level that would justify the cost but, it never did. We felt that our entertainment dollars could be better spent elsewhere.

Brian
8:15 AM, 6/30/2009

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