BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo Common Council Committee requested representatives from Shea's answer questions about the theater's future following a year of turmoil that saw the president get fired.
On Tuesday, those questions were answered.
This was a chance for Buffalo Common Councilmembers to ask representatives from Shea's questions about the theater's future, including questions about its finances.
In March, Shea's filed a letter with the City of Buffalo sharing a status update following the turmoil of last year when Shea's fired its president.
"I know that the heading of this talks about management issues. Personally, I'm not, my questions are not about management issues because that's for their board. It really was because Shea's is a City of Buffalo asset and making sure that with some of what we've heard in the press and what's going on, really kind of a status of the facility," said Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen.
Tuesday afternoon, Shea's Vice President of Operations went over some of the internal changes outlined in the letter with the Community Development Committee.
"Establishment of biweekly meetings with Shea's leadership team and board members for enhanced communication along with conducting courageous conversations at monthly staff town hall meetings that have been very meaningful," said Robert Brunschmid, Shea's Vice President of Operations.
As for the financial picture, Shea's says this season's attendance is the third highest in the past eight years.
"Shea's financial position is as solid as ever. We have restored our working capital reserves to pre-pandemic levels," said Robert Brunschmid.
We also got an update on a plan to fix the roof. The V.P. of Operations says the early estimate shows it will cost more than three million dollars. Shea's got a million dollars in American Rescue Plan funds already, so they plan on applying for capital improvement funds from the city to help cover the rest of the costs.
"That is to protect the asset of the incredible investment that's been made in Shea's Buffalo Theater over twenty years to restore that incredible architecture," said Robert Brunschmid.
Shea's also needs to hire a new president. Tuesday, we found out they are looking at three search firms. They don't have a timeline yet, but they told the council they should have a hiring timeline in the next six months.