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New Victoria boss  says finances stable

Ken Neufeld sets goals, declares ticket sales are ahead of last year.

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By Terry Morris, Staff Writer Updated 1:34 AM Tuesday, June 30, 2009

It didn’t take Ken Neufeld long to buy a home in Oakwood or sell his old one in Buffalo, N.Y. Both were completed in a 48-hour period.

He hasn’t had to hunt for a challenge as the new president and CEO of the Victoria Theatre Association and Arts Center Foundation.

Newly released results for the Broadway Series, which were not made public under previous management, show ticket sales have declined for six years in a row. The combined operation posted a $2.3 million deficit in the year ending June 30, 2008.

Neufeld, 56, expressed confidence that finances are stable.

“The organization has been taking steps to ensure that,” he said.

The payroll is leaner than it was under Dione Kennedy, who left in November 2008 after four years as CEO. Staff has been cut by 25 positions, including 14 full time, to a total of 131 since 2007.

Subscriptions for the 2009-10 season, which is blessed with the blockbusters “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera,” are running almost 1,000 ahead of last year at this time.

Neufeld, who grew up in Toronto and has also managed theaters and a museum in Vancouver, B.C., sees the company as having a “unique business model” to ride out the recession.

“You are usually dependent on two streams of income: selling tickets and raising money. We also run a parking garage, restaurant (Citilites), catering operation, ticket center and we’re a landlord.”

The Arts Center Foundation owns and operates the Schuster Center, Victoria Theatre Association and Metropolitan Arts Center, which includes the Loft Theatre.

“I have never seen such a group of facilities in any community. They are all on one block here,” he said.

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