RCSC Long Range Planning Committee - Mountain View Town Hall Meeting evening & afternoon sessions 263 views. 3 years ago Parking concerns are expressed by a member during the afternoon session about 1:20. (If black screen appears: Tap “Watch on YouTube” you’ll land on the video)
Just watched both videos. Predominant theme that I saw was POOLS and Performing Art Theater. Participants in both sessions were adamant that they didn't want to see any changes to the pools. Folks also very vocal on a theater. The number of seats for the theater to me seems pretty low. The numbers that I heard were seating for 500. If interest in a theater is that great, seating should be increased to at least 1000 to provide for more interest in the future. Otherwise Sun City will be revisiting the theater issue again in the future asking for another theater. Most speakers wanted the theater in MountainView and seem pretty reluctant to travel any distance to a theater. Does anyone know what the mileage is from the southern border of Sun City to the northern bo0rder? One individual said it was 5 miles from Mountainview to Bell rec center. One thing that people forget is that "you cannot please all the people all the time" People have to be prepared to compromise on their wishes, hopes, or demands. Every rec center cannot house all the facilities that people want. They must be prepared to travel, tops 5 miles, to an amenity they wish to partake of. Just my humble opinions and I'm sure others will rebut it and have their own opinion.
As a comparison how many people usually attend the Sun Bowl concerts and how many parking spaces are provided. Both vehicle and golf cart?
5000-7000 at the Sun Bowl so there is no comparison. If you have ever been down that way during a concert, the crowd takes spaces all over the streets and parking lots everywhere down there, along with filling the large sized lot. The challenge for all of this is these days the county now has parking codes on new construction. The old centers are grandfathered.
And don't forget, the Sun Bowl concerts are FREE, that's why attendance is so large! Just my opinion but I would prefer to have a 450-500 seat theater and force the Players to hold more performances. I think that would be a better utilization of the facility and a reduced number of parking spaces.
I think everyone is thinking too small. From everything I’ve heard, a performing arts theater has been on the docket for years. A new performing arts theater should have many uses and I’m sure there would be great demand for seating in any new facility. Too often the RCSC shoots too low in their judgement in creating new amenities. Aka the dog park. Many requests for a Se one and third dog park because one was not enough for the number of people wanting to exercise their pets. I agree that new structures have to abide by new building codes and required parking spaces. If you build it big enough they will come. A question. Is there any reason a new theater has to be built in Sun City?
It's an interesting question SCR: does Sun City need a preforming arts theater? John Meeker in his journals laments they weren't able to build the one planned at the Bell Rec Center. Cost over-runs made it impossible. In interviews done with John and in our oral history collection at the museum, he says one day they will get one built. They have literally been working on it for more than 40 years. I know while serving on the RCSC board there was ample discussion with a number of board members not interested. I was never one of them. I did have concerns once it was built the Sun City Players would claim it as theirs. Every time the discussion comes up, we hear about all the various musical groups that would get to use it. It sounds great but if you know how the Players function, with long rehearsal periods before the actual play is put on, i see the potential for conflict. Let me be clear, that doesn't make me anti-theater. What it does make me is adamant that clearly spells out usage. Seems to me when the theater folks called for potential user groups to attend the last board meeting (in an email the night before), they claimed there were 12 potential groups who would/could perform there. That alone gives credence to the value of a performing arts theater. At the one meeting i went to soliciting comments (posted above), i asked a supporter of the theater if it didn't make sense to have it more centrally located (somewhere in phase 2)? He looked at me like i was crazy and said absolutely not. Even when i told him it was supposed to be at Bell, he was clearly opposed to anywhere but Mountainvew. That has been a sentiment echoed time and time again by the Players. My best guess is they see any move away from MV as simply slowing them down even more. Frankly, i would love to see a theater that held more people. I was surprised by the 400 seat capacity when i first heard it. It would be awesome if the venue they build could hold 600 to 800. At that point we could double schedule shows that now take place at the Sun Dial auditorium, with a matinee and evening performance. Clearly the sound would be better, the seating more comfortable and we would avoid the set up and take down of chairs and tables. That to me is a win/win/win...but what the hell do i know? Sadly, over the years the board has been so divided by the question we have never really been either strategic or practical in our process of deciding what makes the most sense.
Any history available on the performing Arts facility that was or is in Sun City West? What was the capacity? How was attendances? Can anything be learned from SCW?
Sun City West has a wonderful performing arts theater. You can check it out on their website. The huge Sundome that was torn down was a separate property located within Sun City West that no one wanted to fund.
Sun City West Stardust Theatre “Stardust Theatre in Sun City West can seat over 200 people and offers movies, live theatre, and more.” https://suncitywest.com/stardust-theatre/ https://suncitywest.com/imagesNew/Maps/Kuentz.pdf
