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The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 259

Location:
Los Angeles, California
Issue Date:
Page:
259
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

CALENDAR AN OREGON CITY BANKS ON CULTURE Local officials in Eugene Ore are betting heavily on the new petfonning arts center to help revitalize a sagging economy ws 2 I 775grilhe'7 Ii 'i -'-''''4 r------ K7' '060 Yseostr 1111 eee' 1 oll aiii 1711r: Argil 1101r'' 11 44Z77w" 'It 7 iiimatillite00" li SoomornielMOSmitot Am dolowoodoomboor )1PC Alfkiiiiiiii'i'iO 417 ii 10 i I 7-- Ait it: --2 4k t7 4 44 4 A i i L47 11 ii( -7777i ti: tr4 -44- -t 0 4-1 4 4''' lb i ly on the new in Eugene Ore are lir 4:4: belattoicnagl hoffieavc lials economy :01 in arts center to help revitalize a sagging kl st s- :11411110100004 says Mitch Karp the owner of a pipe and- tobacco shop on the city's struggling central mall Echoing his comments were other residents and property owners such as Isabel Hall: "Well it can't hurt" While the center was praised for its cultural offerings Steven Deutsch a University of Oregon professor worries that many of the jobs created as a result of the increasing tourist business would be of the dead-end service type "Eugene might be moving toward a bifurcated economy" he says "with the educated and wealthy enjoying the center and others being unable to afford the price of a ticket" There also was concern expressed by City Councilor Cynthia Wooten and others that the center be made more accessible to local residents and productions In the effort to attract tourists she says it should not be forgotten that the center is being paid for and subsidized by the community It has been estimated by Reynolds that the center's operating deficit for the year will total about $500000 The deficit will have to come out of the city budget or from private contributions both of which already have been heavily drained in the final frantic days to open the center Quqtions of deficits and local accessibility become secondary when the center's role in the regions future is raised In this respect the center could be considered a very attractive loss leader "The pressing issue now facing the region is how to replace forest products as its major economic base" comments Robert McNulty of Partners for Livable Places a nonprofit planning group based in Washington DC Eugene is a pilot city in the group's economics of amenities program "While valuable in its own right" adds McNulty "the center actually is more valuable in moving the region toward diversifying its economy and giving it confidence" The center indeed has become a major selling point in local efforts to attract new industry into the region "It is the first stop on any tour we give of the area" says John Anderson president of the Oregon Pacific Economic Development Corp a nonprofit group formed last year in response to the regrion's deepening recession Anderson who is the former director of international trade for Washington 5 state adds that beyond the business it generates the center demonstrates to interested corporations that the region has confidence in its future and the cohesiveness to create something with class "Jobs follow people and people go where they believe they can best enjoy such things as the outdoors and culture" 7c comments Jim Williams of the local EF amenities program Ile adds this is particularly true of the educated person who works in such jobs as microchip production "and that is the kind of jobs we would like to see here" Ray McIver of the city's downtown association is somewhat more philosophical in his enthusiasm "Microchip companies God bless them may come and go just like the forest-products industry to be replaced by something else but the By SAM HALL KAPLAN EUGENE its lumber industry depressed and its resident university retrenching this verdant congenial city is struggling to attract business to revive its economy What makes Eugene different from most other cities reeling under the effects of the economy and desperate for jobs is of all things culture The theory behind the strategy is that not only do culture and its amenities generate business they also create an enticing environment for new industry There also is the conviction here that cultural arts and crafts fairs and ballet to touring country-andWestern stars and grand essential to simply making residents feel better about their city and its future "When we're talking culture we're talking about pride and livability which to me is the bottom line in Eugene" says Gus Keller the city's ebullient mayor "It's a major consideration in our planning" adds City Manager Michael Gleason The strategy in large part has been prompted by the recent opening of an impressive downtown performing arts center that represents a major investment by this city of about 100000 residents Actually the $267- million center and adjoining garage built entirely with local funds would be a major investment for a city 10 times and more the size of Eugene Designed by the New York architectural firm of Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates the tenter features a 2524- seat concert hall and a 511-seat theater embossed with the latest sophisticated sound and lighting systems The halls share a grand lobby whose overlapping gabled roofs faced with glass soar to 85 feet creating the effect of a modern cathedral in the style of a ski chalet The center was built next to the also recently constructed city conference center a Hilton Hotel and another parking garage which raised the total cost to around 8525 million but it's the performing arts center that dominates the emerging cityscape and conversation "When Eugene does something it does it with style" comments Lloyd Millogan a local stockbroker and a member of the Eugene Arts Foundation "We wanted the best and I think we got the best- Known as the Hu It Center in honor of Nils and Jewel Hu It who gave $3 million to ensure its completion the facility since opening last fall has become the social and economic focal point of the community In retrospect the center's impact has gone way beyond its original expectations "We never really thought much about what the center might do for the economy" says Mauric Jacobs in candor "We just felt the city deserved a center where major world-class performances could be held" A local businessman Jacobs was an energetic supporter of the center when it first was proposed in the 1960s and subsequently defeated as a bond issue in 1972 and 1973 Determined to put Eugene on the cultural map Jacobs headed a consortium of local leaders in an all-out campaign for yet another bond issue in 1978 Those were what are now considered the good old days when the city's population had nearly doubled in a decade its lumber-based economy was booming its resident University of Oregon blossoming and its municipal ego bloated with praise of the city as one of the nation's most desirable places in which to live With the center being promoted as something that would add a little polish to the rough-hewn region while fulfilling the cultural aspirations of a broad base of locals the $185-million bond issue was approved by a 3-to-2 margin Though it was considered a frill the mood of the voters was that the city could afford it "We were feeling flush" recalls James Aday then a member of the city's Arts Alliance and now its cultural arts supervisor "The center was going to be sort of the icing on the cake" adds Edwin Baker publisher of the Eugene Register-Guard and a trustee of the Arts Foundation Now five years later with the lumber industry in its worst recession in 50 years actual unemployment in the region estimated at a staggering 20 and the university and local populations declining the center has taken on a whole new dimension It no longer is considered a frill but an essential element in Eugene and Lane County's attempt at economic diversification "You could say Eugene was remarkably prescient in approving the center when it did but I think fortuitous would be more appropriate" says Hope Hughes Pressman She is a past president of the Arts Foundation which through private contributions subsidized the construction of the center and now is its overseer With varied offerings ranging from mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne performing with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra to a Grand Ole Opry spectacular the center has been drawing large crowds As had been hoped the crowds in turn have been spending money at downtown restaurants and hotels How much money the center can be expected to bring into Eugene is difficult to estimate Various studies have indicated that the average tourist in the Northwest spends $90 a day on entertainment lodging meals and incidentals This has prompted the center's executive director Dick Reynolds to estimate that the facility will generate about $10 million annually However audiences to date have been dominated by residents within commuting distance which could cause problems once the initial attraction of the center wears off Mike Hartnett of the area's recently energized convention and visitors' bureau expects that as the word goes out about the new center the tourist and convention business will more than pick up the expected slack A major marketing effort stressing the region as a destination resort for both its natural setting and now its cultural offerings is planned the first of its kind for an area that in the past looked upon tourists as troublesome or worse as Californians "Whatever the center brings in it has to help: help business and help attitudes" arts will remain forever" 0 (4" Kaplan is The Tina's urban affairs F4 critic.

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