Performing Arts Center Packs ‘Em In, Sets a Record

1989 was a record year for attendance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which ended the year in the black, Center officials announced Thursday.

Attendance at Segerstrom Hall, the facility’s main stage, totaled 679,967 in 1989, a 7.7% increase over 1988’s total, said the officials after a quarterly meeting of the Center’s board of directors. A record total of 264 performances took place in the hall, compared to 253 in 1988, a 4% increase.

Expenses still exceeded revenues by $4 million, Center President Thomas R. Kendrick reported, though not by as much as had been projected.

Charitable donations and interest earned off its endowment during 1989 brought in $4.6 million, he added, leaving the Center in the black, with $115,000 to transfer to its endowment and $404,000 to add to its operating reserves.

Overall fund raising fell $771,000 short of a projected goal of $5.4 million, Kendrick said. He was quick to point out, though, that volunteers raised $1 million more this year than last, for a $4.6-million total.

Center Chairman Henry T. Segerstrom, pleased by the year-end results, said he was not concerned that the fund-raising goal was not met: “You have to judge (the fund-raising total) by the preceding year. (The goal) is a target, and the target can change.”

Kendrick reported that box office revenue for performances presented by the Center covered 83% of operating costs in 1989. However, he expects this figure, and the high attendance totals, to level off closer to national averages. Typically, no more than two-thirds of a performance center’s budget is covered by box office receipts, Kendrick said.

Kendrick also said 12 members of the Center’s board were renominated; five are retiring (Timm F. Crull, Donald P. Everts, Donn Hall, Hugh M. Saddington and Mrs. Edward W. Schumacher); Richard J. Stegemeier was appointed to fill a vacancy, and nominations were received for two new members, Lawrence M. Higby and Les G. McCraw. Higby is president of the of The Times Orange County Edition and a vice president of the Los Angeles Times. McCraw is vice chairman and chief executive officer of Fluor Corp.