Hilton Head tourists would make arts venue work

A recent editorial incorrectly concluded that “the Town of Hilton Head Island’s Venue Committee had its mind made up before it ever got started.”

The Venue Committee’s consultant has put forward solid recommendations that are being embraced, and not disputed, by the community:

1. Address the financial viability of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, which, while challenging, needs to get done.

2. Construct a multi-purpose hall.

3. Upgrade the Coastal Discovery Museum and develop Mitchelville to attract more visitors by building on our heritage and cultural assets.

4. Create an outdoor gathering and events venue.

5. Consider a culinary initiative that would attract tourists who enjoy a variety of activities.

Since the issue surrounding the multi-purpose hall is apparently about location (on- or off-island), not need, I conclude that:

The consultant correctly concluded that the “island by itself can’t provide enough community events to support a large venue.”

However, the consultant appears to have overlooked the potential impact of our millions of visitors, a portion of whom would attend new shows and events, if offered.

Thus, it is premature to assume that a particular venue is ideal.

Therefore, it is prudent to simultaneously evaluate multiple locations in conjunction with determining its overall economic feasibility.

Also, it may be timely to include input from professional management companies that would be candidates to operate the facility.

One might think of the multi-purpose hall attracting two audiences:

1. Visitor-oriented shows (that would also attract residents), primarily during the summer.

2. The anticipated community use (symphony, choral society, etc.) during the balance of the year.

One might project 130 visitor-oriented performances per year with two per day during the height of the tourist season, falling off to two per week at other times. A 3 percent market share contributing $8 per ticket would cover the bonding for the first $24 million of the cost of a multi-purpose hall.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that passing sales tax referenda is very difficult and thus depending on the voters to tax themselves to build a multi-purpose hall is problematic.

With respect to culinary interests, strong cases can be made for a Technical College of the Lowcounty facility in Bluffton to train residents for the hospitality industry, and one on the island to be part of USCB’s hospitality school to train management, with both having dining facilities for residents and visitors, making them both somewhat self-supporting.

In conclusion, the Venue Committee is doing an outstanding job. A head-to-head competition between competing locations will produce the best outcome, and it is unlikely that a multi-purpose hall (regardless of location) will prove to be economically feasible without including tourist-oriented performances.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Hilton Head tourists would make arts venue work."