Roanoke Rapids seeks a savior for theater
It courts Myrtle Beach, Chicago entrepreneurs
Published: Sat, Aug. 02, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Tue, Aug. 05, 2008 08:24AM
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CORRECTION
A front page story Saturday about The Roanoke Rapids Theatre incorrectly stated that Calvin Gilmore ran the venue in May and June. He and the city were unable to reach an agreement.
The story so far
Randy Parton, brother of country music's Dolly Parton, came to the state in 2004. He was attracted by the Northeast Partnership, which receives state funds to spur economic development, to create an entertainment district. Helped by Rick Watson, then head of the partnership, Parton settled in Roanoke Rapids.
The plans hatched by local leaders, Watson and Parton called for a broad complex, named Carolina Crossroads, anchored by the Randy Parton Theatre. The city agreed to pay for the theater by borrowing $21.5 million through a financing method first approved in the state in 2004.
The theater was clouded by controversy almost from the beginning. Watson agreed to work for Parton while maintaining his job at the partnership. The state auditor, in a scathing report, deemed that a conflict, and Watson left the partnership.
The 1,500-seat theater opened in July 2007. Parton, who was promised at least $750,000 a year no matter ticket sales, was the lead performer in a variety show he wrote. He was also the theater manager. Projections called for as many as 300,000 visitors within the first year.
The city refused to release records about the theater, adding another layer of controversy, but it soon became clear that the venue was not living up to attendance projections. It did not make money.
By November, the relationship between the city and Parton was on the rocks. The City Council hired another firm, UGL Unicco, to take over management of the theater. In December, the city booted Parton after allegations that he misspent public funds and that he showed up for a performance drunk.
Parton denied those allegations.
That, though, set off a round of legal bickering as Parton demanded payment as outlined in his contract with the city. As lawyers on both sides worked through the details, another problem occurred. According to Mayor Drewery Beale, UGL Unicco hid (as a janitorial expense) a $40,000 bonus to a manager it hired.
Roanoke Rapids fired UGL Unicco, and city officials took over management of the theater, which they had renamed The Roanoke Rapids Theatre. In late February, the city agreed to give Parton $750,000 to leave.
It looked as though the theater was back on track. In May, Calvin Gilmore, an entrepreneur who started the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach, S.C., agreed to take over management. A temporary contract was put in place as the city and Gilmore worked on a permanent deal.
In June, the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, a Raleigh nonprofit that has fought economic incentives in the state, sued Parton, Watson and Ernie Pearson, a lawyer who used to work for the Northeast Partnership. It alleged that the men embellished Parton's qualifications in a scheme that benefited them.
By early last month, the theater had closed. Roanoke Rapids leaders and Gilmore have not come to terms on a management contract.
JONATHAN B. COX
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Drivers along Interstate 95 might be surprised to learn that the Roanoke Rapids Theatre is closed.
An electronic sign promotes coming concerts by Boston, Styx and Sugarland.
They will take place at an outdoor amphitheater in Carolina Crossroads. That's the larger, 123-acre entertainment district of which the Roanoke Rapids Theatre is but one piece. Carolina Crossroads has had success attracting thousands of people to outdoor concerts.
It has been less successful, though, at attracting other permanent fixtures. Some in the community wonder whether the controversy over the Roanoke Rapids Theatre, which was supposed to help attract more tenants, might instead be keeping them away.
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ROANOKE RAPIDS -- The future of a theater built by this city for a man with a famous last name could rest with a Myrtle Beach crooner or a funeral home owner.
Roanoke Rapids leaders are negotiating with Calvin Gilmore, a singer who started the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Lafayette Gatling, an entrepreneur known for a drive-through funeral home in Chicago, over management and control of the the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.
At stake is salvation from an economic development project gone wrong, one that has left taxpayers under a mountain of debt and filled with embarrassment and anger.
Roanoke Rapids a year ago opened the theater to anchor a broader entertainment district intended to help an economy hurt by manufacturing declines. City leaders borrowed $21.5 million to build and name the venue for Randy Parton. The brother of country music's Dolly Parton was supposed to star in a show and help lure restaurants, shops and other attractions.
Within five months of the theater's opening, the relationship soured, and, after lawyers got involved, Roanoke Rapids paid Parton $750,000 to go away. City leaders brought in two other management teams, including Gilmore's, to get the 1,500-seat theater on track.
Problems persisted. And the theater, which was supposed to have drawn more than 250,000 people and generated hundreds of jobs by now, closed last month. It's unclear when it will reopen.
"I'm very, very disappointed with the way this whole operation has been run," said Greg Dendler, a retiree who moved to the city in 2005 from Buffalo, N.Y. "Everybody says the same thing: We're a joke. We're the laughingstock of the state."
Roanoke Rapids leaders had visions of entertainment mecca Branson, Mo., when they undertook the theater project. They wanted to build a destination for tourists and figured the city's location on a major north-south artery should help. Along Interstate 95, the Roanoke Rapids Theatre -- it was renamed after Parton left -- today stands out not only for an opulent facade but for what surrounds it: nothing.
A Hilton Garden Inn and RV park have opened in the broader Carolina Crossroads complex, but promises of additional hotels, restaurants and entertainment options have gone unfulfilled.
Back in January, city and business leaders held a groundbreaking on a lot adjacent to the theater for 32,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. A sign at the site this week promoted DeVito's Rotisserie Bar & Grill and the Shoppes at Carolina Crossroads.
Construction has yet to begin.
'It's ridiculous'
Aside from being a blow to the city's aspirations, the emptiness has significant implications for its budget. Roanoke Rapids was the first municipality to borrow money under a type of financing authorized by a 2004 amendment to the North Carolina constitution.
The $21.5 million loan, obtained without a public vote, was premised on the theater generating enough cash to pay off the debt. If it didn't, then incremental tax revenue from the 123-acre Carolina Crossroads district was supposed to be applied and, only as a last resort, would the city tap the general tax base.
The City Council this year raised property taxes almost 9 percent. The slowing economy, rising fuel costs and other issues were factors, but "the theater project is a primary reason for the financial challenges," Mayor Drewery Beale wrote in a June column that ran in the local newspaper.
jonathan.cox@newsobserver.com or (919) 836-4948
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Staff researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report.
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