What a mess. Even before its construction in 2004, the Overture Center has caused much grief for the city of Madison and its residents. Despite being funded by a huge (read: $205 million) private donation, the Overture Center ended up putting the city of Madison in almost $28 million of debt because of some missteps made by the City Council. Now, the council has a chance to redeem itself and bring the Overture Center out of its current despair. A deal between banks and several private donors has resolved the debt. The only condition is that the city must take over ownership and operation of the Overture Center. The City Council is responsible for negotiating and finalizing this deal, though it seems incapable of doing so responsibly.
The council has already made some major mistakes regarding the Overture Center. The first, and quite possibly the worst, was investing half of the original donation in a trust. This ultimately backfired when the economy took a turn for the worse, leaving the city in a million dollars of debt. Instead of using the generous gift as it was intended, the council decided to take an unnecessary risk. The council turned a chance to construct a fabulous performing arts center with zero spending for capital into $28 million of debt. That takes some talent.
Even with this new chance to repair the Overture Center, the council has made some huge mistakes. The deal was proposed in July, and by early October, a special committee had recommended to the council that they go forward with the deal, with the condition that the city hire an outside expert to examine the business plan that has been proposed. The current proposal was funded by the nonprofit organization that will most likely take over operations of the Overture Center. Instead of recognizing that this business plan may not be in the best interest of the city of Madison, the City Council voted down the proposal to hire the outside expert. In fact, three of the council members weren’t even at the meeting to discuss the matter. By the time the next council meeting rolls around in early November, there will not be time for the expert to conduct his analysis before the mid-November deadline set by the banks and the donors. Thus, the council will be making a decision based on incomplete information. At this point, this almost seems like standard operating procedure with regards to the Overture Center.
The Overture Center has the potential to be a great landmark for the city of Madison. In a city with a major university, people recognize the importance of the arts in our culture. The venue attracts major shows, like The Lion King this past spring and Wicked in September. It has become an integral part of the 200 block of State Street. The council would be wise to recognize the potential for the facility to become much more integrated into the city. The business plan moving forward should include more shows with lower ticket prices, and also a more efficient way for the community to use the surplus of space inside the Overture Center.
Instead of being a point of pride for Madison, the Overture Center has become representative of the mistakes that the city has made. If we’re lucky, the City Council will get their act together before making this critically important decision on behalf of Madison. There is little question that the city will take over ownership of the Overture Center, and I’m cautiously optimistic that this new plan will improve the current situation. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the City Council won’t mess this up even further for Madison.
Madhuri Setaluri ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in genetics.