“Alegria” is a Spanish word that means happiness, joy and jubilation.
It also is the title of the show that Cirque du Soleil will present to open its 2009 U.S. season in July at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the first time the Montreal-based performance troupe now celebrating its 25th anniversary will perform in Providence.
Whether the booking will translate into “happiness, joy and jubilation” for the newly renovated Dunk, however, depends on how well it does financially during what is usually a slow season for performance events in the capital city. Cirque will be at the Dunk for seven shows during the July 4th holiday weekend, from Thursday, July 2 through Sunday, July 5.
According to James P. McCarvill, executive director of the R.I. Convention Center Authority, which includes the Dunk in its portfolio, the facility is expected to again operate at a deficit this fiscal year.
In the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, the Dunk has an operating budget of $7.1 million and expects to spend $650,000 to $675,000 more than that.
For the previous fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2008, the Dunk had total revenue of $5.1 million and expenses of $5.5 million. The total 2008 loss, when other overhead is included, was $988,000, according to McCarvill.
The Dunk was closed for $80 million in renovations during one month of fiscal year 2008 and two months of the current fiscal year, a time when no revenue was coming in but expenses were reduced. Between the start of the current fiscal year last July 1 through April, the Dunk saw a net increase in revenue of about $20,000, McCarvill said, based on a gross increase of $1.9 million in revenue.
To McCarvill, that suggests that though the Dunk is slated to again lose money, it’s not for lack of business.
The problem, he said, is not the number of shows coming to the Dunk or excessive expenses, but the fact that “some events were not particularly profitable. We didn’t make much on a lot of these shows, given the economy,” which depressed ticket sales.
Yet, McCarvill maintained, to judge the success of the Dunk solely on the basis of its income is “missing the point,” because the former civic center “keeps people working,” keeps people coming downtown where they can spend at other places and generally is an engine of economic activity.
Ruth Ferrazzano, owner of Murphy’s Deli on Fountain Street, said the Dunk “contributed greatly to the success and ability of this place to last.” She moved the 80-year-old deli a few blocks closer to the Dunk about two years ago.
“The proximity of the Dunk always has helped Murphy’s,” she said. Without the Dunk, her business and “a lot” of others “wouldn’t be here,” she said.
In some respects, the Dunk is still trying to overcome the timing of its reopening, in September 2008, at the same time the stock market crumbled and the recession began to take hold, McCarvill said.
Cirque may be just what the Dunk needs in a traditionally slow season, however, because events that do best there are family entertainment and sports. The weak points in the past year have been one-night concert events, McCarvill said. At the time the Dunk reopened, McCarvill noted, the number of concert tours offered to venues its size dropped due to the economy and extra caution on the part of booking agents.
On top of what McCarvill said were record attendance levels at the Disney on Ice shows in December and the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus in April/May, the Dunk posted what McCarvill called its “best gross ever” – $523,855 – for a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event in April, carried live on pay-per-view cable television.
The Dunk is home to the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League and the Providence College Friars, part of the Big East athletic conference, two teams that McCarvill noted had “very good” seasons.
Attendance at Bruins’ games this year averaged 6,120, compared with 6,107 a year ago, and at the Friars’ games, 8,310 in 2009 compared with 8,527 in 2008.
McCarvill added that revenue from both teams’ games was up 2.5. percent. One reason, he suggested, is the fact that the luxury suites were open the entire season this year, but were not in place for 2008.
“We were a little tired,” he said of the renovations. “Capacity was not the problem, it was the condition the building was in,” he said. “It was below standard for an NCAA event.”
The renovations replaced nearly 14,000 new seats, increased bathroom space and widened the concourse and lobby. Also added were 20 private suites that have flat-panel TVs, mini-fridges and marble-topped, bar-style seating. A new $1.2 million video scoreboard was installed and the main entrance, on Sabin Street, has a curved, glassy façade.
Besides Cirque, other upcoming events at the Dunk include the Demi Lovato Summer Tour on Aug. 23, featuring the 16-year-old singer/actress who has opened for the Jonas Brothers, and the Spirit of America, Sept. 25-26, a military review and theatrical production about America’s musical heritage.
“Alegria,” a Cirque classic featuring 54 international performers and the breathtaking acrobatics that are the troupe’s trademark, is the story of a place inhabited by minstrels, rogues, beggars, nobles, children and clowns, according to information from the organization. The Cirque troupe numbers about 100, including the performers.
Finn Taylor, general manager of Cirque, told Providence Business News that the company “always wanted” to play Providence and other smaller markets, but was not able to until a major production change was made recently. Cirque shows in the past were designed for “big tops” such as circus venues, Taylor said, but for the first time shows have been adapted to fit smaller arenas like the Dunk.
After Providence, Cirque will visit two other relatively small venues, Manchester, N.H., and Newark, N.J., in July.
As for the Dunk’s future, “we need to grow the event schedule and look for more attendance per event,” McCarvill said.
“It’s fair to say we have not reached our upside, but we are moving in the right direction. I really think, over time, if we can extend our season and bring in more dates and more events that we’ve never had before, we’ll do well. Our best days are not behind us,” McCarvill said. •
