Earlier this month, facing a second straight year of red
ink, the Oregon Zoo raised its admission prices by $1.
The fee hike was explained as a way to get on top of
expenses related to the zoo's ongoing expansion. But
the 112-year-old institution faces another, longer-term
threat to its finances: an amphitheater planned near
the Expo Center that could cut into the success of the
zoo's lucrative summer-concert series.
Although officials at the animal emporium say they're
not worried, the zoo's own promoter says they ought
to be.
"I don't think they grasp how seriously threatened
this revenue stream is," says Steve Reischman of Showman
Inc., who for 18 years has contracted with the zoo to
handle its summer concerts.
Reischman's worries began in May, when the Metropolitan
Exposition-Recreation Commission announced plans for
the Portland Pavilion in North Portland. The 5,000-seat
outdoor amphitheater would be operated by Pace Entertainment,
part of the huge entertainment conglomerate SFX Entertainment
Inc. Under the proposed arrangement, SFX would lease
the MERC-owned property for 20 years and pay the public
agency an amount that is still under negotiation.
Reischman contends the amphitheater will take the most
profitable shows--those held on Friday and Saturday
nights-- forcing the zoo to book lesser acts and eventually
drop its weekend concert series. "The zoo will not be
able to compete, because the zoo does not have the deep
pockets that Pace has," he says.
Although the zoo concerts take place just outside the
elephant exhibit, we're not talking peanuts. The zoo
grossed $463,000 last summer in six weekend concerts.
Sponsorship from Wells Fargo shoots that figure to about
$510,000. The zoo says its profit on that is about $100,000;
Reischman puts the figure closer to $170,000.
The latter number happens to be exactly what MERC hopes
to pull in once the amphitheater is up and running,
according to MERC General Manager Mark Williams. That
money, he says, is badly needed to pay for renovation
of aging facilities such as the Expo Center.
Dan Bean of Pace says he hopes to attract acts such
as Chicago, the Moody Blues, Harry Connick Jr., Robert
Cray and blues great Buddy Guy--acts he describes as
a higher link in the entertainment food chain than those
found at the zoo.
Reischman, however, points out that Cray played the
zoo this summer, as did country legend Steve Earle,
the Cowboy Junkies and Joan Armatrading. Past years
have drawn Lyle Lovett, Boz Scaggs and blues great B.B.
King. "They're definitely going after the exact niche
that the zoo currently serves," he says.
Williams rejects Reischman's worries, saying that the
promoter, who also books shows for the Champoeg State
Park, is just scared of competition.
That may be, but the fact is that MERC and the Oregon
Zoo are both public agencies. What's more, they're both
arms of Metro.
Metro spokeswoman Pam Wilson says her agency hasn't
analyzed the potential effects of MERC's plans on the
zoo budget. "We kind of relied on the zoo for this,"
she says. "If they say it won't have an impact, we'll
take it at face value."
The question is, has the zoo given the matter much
thought? "I really can't say anything about whether
this new [amphitheater] is going to affect us," says
deputy director Kathy Kiaunis, the zoo's budget guru.
"If it becomes something that's not profitable for us
to do anymore, we'll find something else to do."
Fans of the 21-year-old concert series, however, say
the zoo is a superior venue because of its family-friendly
atmosphere and proximity to light rail. Dan Eichler,
a loyal summer concertgoer, says, "When I meet people
who've just moved to town, I tell them it's one of the
best things about living here."
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Willamette Week | originally
published October 13,
1999
