Richardson Performance Hall More Smoke and Mirrors.

11/03/06


I just attended the dedication of the Richardson Performance Hall at Del Mar College. We were only allowed in the lobby so I will limit my review to the lobby. Let me tell you folks when you see past the smoke and mirrors nothing much has changed for the person who is going to rent the facility accept maybe for the worse. VP Alaniz was quoted in the Caller Times as saying “We have to do what’s right in terms of business.” But the lobby shows that Mr. Alaniz, VP of Business and Finance and Mr. Meredith interim auditorium manager are both incompetent when it comes to the business of Richardson Auditorium. One of the things I had hoped for from a business perspective was that a new lobby could be used for small events, parties, weddings and quinceaneras. Without the proper utilities and lighting that will not be easily possible. That is certainly one source of funding that has been overlooked.

First let’s deal with the box office. When I was manager we often needed to use two, three and four box office windows for events and sometimes that still left us with long lines blocking the lobby. Many times we had to stall the start of the show because of ticket lines. The new lobby has one box office window on the outside of the building. The lines in the lobby were one of my first safety complaints and now it looks like things might get even worse after all who wants to be stuck outside, dressed up for a show waiting to buy or pick up tickets. More people today do purchase tickets on the WEB but, in our community where that adds to the cost of the ticket many people still will wait and buy them at the box office. Del Mar has not made it easy to purchase your ticket on line. You can’t just choose your tickets on the Del Mar ticket site and so many people will not purchase their tickets blindly particularly when they are so expensive.

Inside the new lobby there is additional spaces for what I assume were intended to be concession stands but there are no utilities, plumbing or electrical outlets. There are also no wall display lights and no spaces to hang posters and advertisements etc. In the old lobby area where people were forced to run extension cords, no additional electrical outlets have been added and the extension cord issue which was one of my original safety issues is still going to be a safety issue. Beyond that the old ceiling was asbestos and as part of this renovation the asbestos had to be ripped down. When the ceiling was open would have been the best time to run new wall outlets and wall lighting. We had hoped that the inefficient lighting system which burned a lot of energy would be replaced when the ceiling was replaced but no it is still there. Another issue in the lobby was that people needed to use the walls to advertise their products, t shirts, etc (particularly if they have to pay more expensive fees) and no accommodation was made for that and no accommodation was made to light the walls as I had originally requested. When you go into the old parlor area they are exactly as they were down to the old chandeliers that nobody liked and we all wanted replaced. In fact when plans were starting to be drawn I had suggested modern gallery lighting be added to the lobby and parlors so that art, a Christmas tree and merchandising could be properly lit and displayed.

Another thing is that the auditorium was built facing west. There were glass doors and windows on the lobby entrance that were replaced with solid doors and the windows were covered up. The architects have gone and put a glass front back on the building without asking why was it changed to begin with? It was changed because when the sun sets in the West it comes blasting through the auditorium doors and onto the stage where it disrupted performances and ceremonies. Now I hear they are going to get rid of the glass on the interior doors but of course that does not stop the light from streaming in when late comers arrive. You can try and keep those people out but that is labor intensive and as best as I can tell the administration still has not dealt with the need for a professional staff to run the auditorium. Maybe had they hired a professional management company they would not have made the above mistakes. So here we are again after spending five million dollars there are still problems for the people using the auditorium. Why, because the current administration, regents, auditorium manager and architects did not listen to the people who use the auditorium and to the people who know the auditoriums past. Those Who Do Not Learn from History are Doomed to Repeat It.

Howard Karsh, retired Richardson Auditorium Manager,

Candidate for DMC Regents District 5.