HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/15/2022 Item 6a, Newman
Delgado, Adriana
From:Suzy Newman <suzy@slorep.org>
Sent:Wednesday, February
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Agenda Item 6A - SLO REP
Attachments:SLO REP Capital Campaign Advisory Council 2.9.22.pdf
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Good afternoon,
As Capital Campaign Coordinator of SLO REP, I am pleased to submit the attached CAPITAL CAMPAIGN ADVISORY
COUNCIL petition letter in support of SLO REP’s Challenge Grant Request (Agenda Item 6a) for consideration at the
February 15, 2022 meeting.
Please let me know if you have any difficulty opening the attachment.
Sincerely,
Suzy Newman
1
San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre
Capital Campaign Advisory Council
February 9, 2022
Honorable City Council Members,
As members of SLO REP’s Capital Campaign Advisory Council, we write to encourage the
Council to approve SLO REP’s proposed challenge grant.
For a variety of reasons, we are enthusiastic supporters of SLO REP’s plans for building a
new venue downtown. For some of us, it’s about our love of theatre; for others, it’s about
cultural scene.
We won’t belabor the many reasons we believe the challenge grant represents a wise
investment opportunity for the Council. But given our collective backgrounds in business
Obispo, we mention a few that strike us as particularly compelling:
• Economic impact: SLO REP Theatre will draw more than double the number of
patrons downtown each year in this new venue than in its current one, generating
an annual economic impact of more than $3 million. That impact alone could justify
approving this challenge grant.
• Low risk, low cost, high ROI: The challenge grant is a low-risk high-reward
meets proscribed fundraising benchmarks. Thus, no city money is spent until project
completion is assured. The amount in question is about 1% of what the City spends
major pillar of the Downtown Concept Plan. This grant would also be consistent with
the Council’s Major City Goals for 2021-23.
• Exemplary public-private partnership: With completion of the SLO REP project, the
City would own a state-of-the-art venue for live performances, with the private sector
bearing the majority of the cost. This venue will be a community asset enjoyed by
hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors for generations to come.
SLO REP has been a vibrant part of San Luis Obispo’s cultural fabric since 1947. After
experiencing exponential growth over the last decade, the time is right – after 75 years in
San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre
Capital Campaign Advisory Council
Please approve SLO REP’s challenge grant request.
Thank you for your consideration,
Alan MacVey (Iowa City, IA) Lawrence Lesher (New York, NY)
Director Division of Performing Arts, Director/Actor
University of Iowa
Maggie Cox (San Luis Obispo)
Art Borreca (Iowa City, IA) Co-Founder & CEO, Barnett Cox &
Co-Head Iowa Playwrights Workshop Associates (retired)
University of Iowa
Paul Mason Barnes (Ashland, OR)
Brendan V. McAdams, Jr. M.D. (San Luis Director
Obispo, CA) Retired Orthopedic Surgeon,
Philanthropist, Community Volunteer Roger DeLaurier (San Luis Obispo)
Christopher F Miller (Arroyo Grande, CA)Conservatory Theatre
Managing Director, Performing Arts Center,
San Luis Obispo Jules Hock (Los Osos, CA)
Retired CEO
David Cox (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Co-Founder and President, Barnett Cox & Ryan Caldwell (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Associates (retired)CEO, Wacker Wealth Partners
Eric Forsythe (Iowa City, IA)Sandi Sigurdson (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Actor’s Equity Association, SAG/AFTRA
James apRoberts (San Luis Obispo, CA) Ermina Karim (San Luis Obispo, CA)
CEO, Subplot Studio Former CEO SLO Chamber of Commerce
Jody Hovland (Iowa City, IA)Anita Robinson (Morro Bay, CA)
Co-Founder Riverside Theatre Retired CEO
Ron Clark (Iowa City, IA) Libbie Agran (Los Osos)
Co-Founder/Artistic Director Riverside Director Wine History Project, SLO
Theatre