Government
BY ISABELLA ZEFF
Eisemann Center eyes revenue growth amid budget pressure
said the center aims to reduce its reliance on city funding by increasing its earned and contributed revenue. With sustained growth, she said the subsidy could drop to $2 million a year. Breaking it down Haynes-Hamblen said the Eisemann Center hosts rental events, city events and “Eisemann Center Presents” music and theater shows. Staff work every year to hone the offerings of ticketed events and identify incentives to bring in more audiences, she said. “We’re really trying to learn every single year more and more about the market and the way that this market behaves,” Haynes-Hamblen said. Haynes-Hamblen said the center is also working to grow ancillary revenue from events—such as parking, ticket fees, concessions sales, artist mer- chandise and catering fees—that are not included in the base rental invoice.
Richardson’s Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations is working to stabilize its revenue following post- COVID-19 challenges and amid budget pressures that could result in cut city programs. The big picture The statewide cap on property tax increases, which has been in place since 2019 and is likely to be lowered further in the next legislative session, has created budget pressures that could lead to a budget deficit in Richardson in the coming years, City Manager Don Magner said at a past City Council meeting. “Unfortunately the system that the state has put on us is [that] we are more limited than ever in the buckets of funding that we have,” Magner said. The city currently provides about $3 million a year in subsidy funds for the center, but Eisemann Center Executive Director Ally Haynes-Hamblen
Eisemann Center revenue
$3.5M $3M $2.5M $2M $1.5M $1M $500K $0
$1.06M
$3.22M
Usage days by event type, FY 2024-25 Fiscal year Nonprofit organizations
170
For-profit/corporations
139
Eisemann Center/City of Richardson events
198
SOURCE: CITY OF RICHARDSON/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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