Management of

Rio Grande Theatre

"An up-to-date theater which is managed in an efficient
way, the Rio Grande cannot help but be an asset to a
town and great source of pleasure to its citizens."
- Las Cruces Citizen, November 3, 1933
(National Register of Historic Places)

Goal:
To develop the RGT as the focal point for arts
and entertainment in Las Cruces; with the
primary purpose of bringing residents and
visitors to the center of our city and fostering
additional businesses and economic growth.
Time to change the Conversation:

"Designed to awe, the Rio Grande Theater still stands out as a

stylish representation of a bygone era. It attracts the
attention of few pedestrians who stroll the desolate old Main
Street area"
- National Register of Historical Places*

*The above quote is taken from the application to the National Registry
dated November 18, 2003.

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Objectives
Maximize utilization of city asset.
Provide a variety of year-round entertainment for residents and visitors.
Showcase local, regional and national talent.
Motivate residents and locals to visit downtown.
The RGT shall be the one-stop ticketing outlet for the arts.
Ensure responsible use of city facilities.
Maximize asset to strengthen ability to attract visitors.
Stimulate future business development by increasing pedestrian traffic in
the downtown area.

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Revenue Streams
Foundations / Grants
Sponsorships
Ticket sales
Concession Sales
Space and A/V Rental
Merchandise
Venue rental for meetings and conventions

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Tactical Programs
Music and performing arts showcase:
Produce a music showcase for regional entertainers. A different entertainer or band would be featured
every week.
Continue and grow the successful free performing art series sponsored by Visit Las Cruces and the
Mexican Consulate.
Collaboration with NMSU:
Theatre: Mark Medoff, a Tony and Olivier Award winner, resides in Las Cruces and teaches at NMSU. He has debuted all his
plays in Las Cruces. Mr. Medoff would consider doing at least one theatrical production each year.
Lonnie Klein, conductor of the Las Cruces Symphony, has agreed to work with new management to produce several music
events. Genres considered include Chamber, Jazz and Big Band.
Deborah Knapp, head of NMSU Dance Department has expressed interest in doing several dance events each year.
Produce a series of national performances that are priced for a 422 seat theater. The eventual goal
would be to produce 6-8 performances each year . Initially, CVB would start with 3 4 of these
nationally known performers. By collaborating with the Flickinger Theater in Alamogordo, Spencer
Theater in Ruidoso, and Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix; we should be able to realize
cost savings by effective routing of artists.
The Dona Ana Arts Council would be welcome to continue their Performing Arts series of 6 8 shows.

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Tactical Programs
Cinema
Classical Movie Series
A minimum of 1 classic film will be featured each month. Tickets would be sold individually, full subscription, or pick
3. Whenever possible, management would try to do promotions with various themes. For example, accompanying
the movie: The Godfather; we would attempt to have food trucks outside selling pizza and meatball sandwiches. At
the same time, our concession area would feature Italian wines.
Special Cinema Presentations, Audience Interaction
There are certain films that can be featured as sing-along shows. Sound of Music, Grease and Mama Mia are
excellent examples where multiple generations know most of the lyrics of all the songs. There would be two
performances of these movies. The first viewing would be for those who just want to see the movie; while the
second would be for those who want to sing-along.
Silent Movies: Establish a weekend featuring silent films. Showcase several silent films over a weekend. An
accompanying piano player would be on hand to provide an authentic experience.
Work with the Las Cruces film industry to premier local productions.
Saturday Matinees
RGT is a perfect theater to bring back Saturday matinees. This would be a fun family event where films that were
once loved by parents, can now be shared again with their Children. Lion King, Bambi and many other childrens
classics can be brought back for family entertainment. The Saturday Matinee movies would be shown at little, or no
cost to viewers. Our intent would be to identify a sponsor to cover costs.

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Tactical Programs
RGT/Plaza joint promotions
There are ways to leverage the downtown plaza with the RGT. An example might be a showing of the film Grease at RGT
with an oldies dance and classic car show at the plaza. Another example may include pairing the Pops Under the Stars
with a second evening of music the night before or after.
RGT will do an analysis of events taking place at the plaza to determine scope of events, as well as starting and ending
times. The purpose of the analysis would be to plan events that will keep people downtown longer. The RGT events
would be designed to compliment, rather than compete with events taking place at the plaza.

Leveraging visitor opportunities

There are many events that have visitor appeal; but because they are limited to one day, they do not have sufficient draw
to bring in visitors. Pops Under the Stars is a great event; but it would bring in more visitors if we can leverage the event
with a second event on the next night. The Art Show or Spanish Market are other events that can be leveraged to bring
more visitors. Although the events lasts the entire weekend; they traditionally close at 5 or 6 PM. We can attract more
visitors to these shows by creating events in the evenings. By strategically supplementing these events with other
activities; the RGT becomes an impetus to bring in more visitors and generate better attendance for the events.

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Tactical Programs
Special Performances
Unplugged Showcase The theatre is too small to bring in many major shows; but frequently there are performers who like to go on tour to do an
acoustic one-person performance. RGT is an ideal venue for these types of shows. As part of the plan, we would like to do at least two of these
events each year.
Comedy Showcase Comedy shows tend to have a good following; and the size of the RGT is very suitable for stand-up or skit comedy. As part of the
plan, we would like to do at least four of these events each year. Depending on the response of the audience, we would consider doing more of these
shows.
Childrens Camp and other Programs CVB will continue to offer educational programs for children. We will invite DAAC to continue their kids
programs. We will work with NMSU and LCPS to establish additional programs.
Visitor Center and Ticket Office
Setting up a visitors center in part of the lobby will bring steady traffic to downtown. It will also be more convenient for those attending the Farmers
Market.
Visit Las Cruces will extend an invitation to The Las Cruces Community Theater, Black Box Theater, American Southwest Theater Company, Las Cruces
Symphony Orchestra, Dona Ana Arts Council, and other performing arts groups to sell tickets at the RGT box office.
Work with the arts community to create an Art Pass where residents and visitors can purchase coupons that can be redeemed at all participating
venues and events.
Establish weekly tours of the building. Group tours by appointment. Tours will eventually include the Rio Grande Theater and Amador Hotel, once
work is completed.
THE RGT will be available for rental to local groups for private meetings and gatherings.
Coordinate a reciprocal agreement with EL Paso CVB where our box office will sell events at the Plaza Theatre; and their Box Office will sell our events.

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CVB Support & Experience
There are a number of ways in which the depth of the CVBs staff experience will be useful and supportive of RGT activities
Marketing
The CVB has several staff with significant backgrounds in marketing and communications.
When events at the RGT have the propensity to bring in stay-over visitors; these events can be promoted through our overall
marketing effort.
RGT will receive better advertising rates under CVB due to the large volume of advertising that we purchase.
Press releases and social media will be supported by CVB efforts.
Venue Management
A full time theater manager will be hired who will be responsible for the Rio Grande and Amador Hotel.
The manager will be supported by CVB staff, including Jennifer Bales . Ms. Bales will receive her Certificate from the Senior Executive
Symposium at Cornell University School of Hotel Administration sponsored by the International Association of Venue Management
(IAVM) this May. Jennifer also worked as an event planner for Prestige Accommodations, a third party event planning company; and
in production at Paramount Studios.
CVB has successfully overseen the management of the Convention Center, significantly improving financial performance over the
past five years.
Talent Acquisition
For the past 5 years CVB staff have been making all final decisions on talent for the Country Music Festival. We have worked with a
consultant in Nashville and Barbara Hubbard, who has been promoting concerts and events in New Mexico for 45 Years. All the
negotiations and contracts are reviewed by staff prior to Friends of Visit Las Cruces, a non-profit organization, executes the contracts.
All riders, travel, accommodations and timing of entertainment have been managed by CVB staff.
Two CVB staff are members, and attend the annual conference of the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) in
Nashville.

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Friends of Visit Las Cruces
A 501(c)3 corporation founded in 2015
Purpose is to generate sponsorship funding for programs that will bring
visitors and create a better quality of life for its residents.
Board Members Include:
Belia Alvarez, President - General Manager of Hotel Encanto
Mike Beckett, Secretary / Treasurer Owner of COAS Books
Lou Sisbarro, Member at Large Sisbarro Dealerships
John Hummer, Member at Large Steinborn Realty
Barbara Hubbard, Member at Large ACTS (American Collegiate Talent Showcase)
In addition to the above, the Friends group has two non-voting members including a CPA and
Legal Counsel.
Board would increase its membership to include more representation from
the Arts community.

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Organizational Chart

CVB
Executive Director

Venue General Manager

Operations Specialist

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Venue General Manager
Responsible to set up SOP for venue rental
Insurance
Fees (when applicable)
Refundable deposit
Pre-Approved contract from legal for rental
Book Events
Sponsorships
Work with City Grants Department to identify grant opportunities
Media & Promotion

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Operations Specialist (contract person)
Ensure venue is properly maintained
Coordinate all A/V needs
Ensure production quality is reflective of venue
Provide referrals for production beyond in-house capability
Be on-call during events

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Volunteer Recruitment and Training

An event the size of the Las Cruces Country Music Festival requires many volunteers; and as a
result, Visit Las Cruces is very accustomed to recruiting and working with volunteers.
Visit Las Cruces will recruit and train volunteers to work at the box office, visitors center, ushers
and tour guides.
Each volunteer will go through the Las Cruces A2D (Arrival to Departure) customer service
training that has recently been launched. Currently, there are 3 staff members who are trained to
teach this program.
Volunteers will also be cross-trained so that each person has the capabilities of performing
various functions.

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 Revenue
General Fund $ 120,000
Sponsorships $ 15,000
Merchandise $ 3,000
RGT Rental Income $ 20,000
F&B $ 30,000
Subscriptions for Classic Movie Series ($79 X 100 sub) $ 7,900
Classic Movie Tkt Sales $8 X 150 X12 $ 14,400
Musicians Exchange 48 Weeks x $2.50 X 75 $ 9,000
Special Cinema Presentations 2 X 8*250 $ 4,000
Saturday Matinees $1x100X12 shows $ 1,200
Attachment A: Proposed 12 month Special Performances Ticket Sales $20x300 X2 shows
Estimated Total Revenue
$
$
12,000
236,500
budget for CVB Management of
Expenses
Rio Grande Theatre Sales Manager + Benefits 45 K +35% benefits $ 60,750
Operations Specialist (contract) $ 30,000
Cost of Merchandise $ 1,000
Cost of Classic Movie Series Avg $7x 250 x12/2 $ 10,500
Cost of Special Cinema Presentations 2x1000 $ 2,000
Cost of Kids Movies $650 X12 $ 7,800
Cost of F&B $ 15,000
Servers Eveneing 64 events 64 Events, 2 servers, 4 hours $15/hr $ 7,680
Server Matinee 12 events, 1 server, 4 hours @ $15 $ 720
Security - Evening Events - 1 guard, 4 hours @$16.75, for 64 events $ 4,288

Marketing & Advertising $ 30,000

Ticket Printing $ 2,000
Tech Fee - Sound / Lighting $ 1,000
Printing $ 5,000
Equipment Rental - Copier $ 2,500
Janitorial $ 12,000
General Repair $ 2,000
Fire & Alarm $ 1,200
Piano Tuning $ 2,000
Phone $ 5,000
Electricity $ 18,000
Water/sewer/waste $ 3,300
Travel $ 7,500
Entertainment $ 1,000

Estimated Total Expenses $ 232,238 15