Council expected to discuss theater contract Tuesday

Lance Martin, Herald Senior Staff Writer

ROANOKE RAPIDS - The City Council is expected to discuss a possible contract with impresario Calvin Gilmore to run The Roanoke Rapids Theatre during its budget work session Tuesday.

The meeting is set for 5:15 p.m. in the Lloyd Andrews City Meeting Hall on Roanoke Avenue.

Mayor Drewery Beale declined to elaborate on whether the contract will be approved, but did say a statement would be issued following the meeting.

Gilmore is the owner of Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach, touted as one of the most successful venues on the Atlantic Coast. He has signed a letter of intent to run the theater.

Under the letter of intent, Gilmore's company would be paid an annual management fee of $500,000. Carolina Crossroads developers Michael Dunlow and George Ragsdale have agreed to pay half that fee for the first two years.

The company's responsibilities will include front management, show productions, ticketing, operations and marketing.

Gilmore Entertainment is the third management group to take control of the theater since it opened last summer with Randy Parton at the helm.

In November 2007, City Council members looked at revenues and decided the theater wasn't performing as well as it could under Parton, and re-wrote Parton's contract to reduce his number of annual performances and remove him as manager. Parton quit performing at the theater after city officials ordered him to leave the theater Dec. 7, saying he was too intoxicated to perform.

Parton denied the charges and later settled his contract with the city for $750,000.

UGL Unicco stepped in to operate the theater after the Parton controversy, but its letter of intent to be named the permanent management team was terminated with the city after it was discovered a $40,000 bonus to manager Rick Reno was hidden in a janitorial supplies account. Unicco left shortly after the letter of intent was terminated.

The city has been operating the theater for the last three months and in that time, it has lost slightly more than $1 million including more than $500,000 used to settle the city's contract with Parton.