Letter: Proper arts center would work

About the editorial board’s opinion relative to the proposed arts venue on Hilton Head Island:

I believe that there are lessons to be learned from the examples of other nearby coastal destinations. For instance, both Charleston and Savannah have and support lively arts activities.

At some point in the remote past, the powers that be on Hilton Head decided to build an “arts center.” That is sort of an misnomer since the building design, acoustics, layout and capacity preclude classical music.

While I would be opposed to sacrificing land at Honey Horn, I support fully a proper venue that would be acoustically appropriate and have a capacity to seat enough people to be financially viable.

For those who scoff, I will just point to the tens of millions of dollars of profit to local businesses that the Spoleto Festival USA brings to Charleston, to say nothing of their symphony orchestra and other revenue-producing events at the Gaillard.

I can’t believe that proponents of a proper concert venue on Hilton Head cannot find a piece of property that would be suitable. Let’s just hope that whatever they would build isn’t too small or poorly designed to do the job.

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Letter: Proper arts center would work."