KEY POINTS:
The increasing cost of the proposed Q Theatre will be uppermost in councillors' mind when they review a $9.2 million grant for the arts venue next week.
Finance committee chairman Doug Armstrong said there was a strong argument for confirming the previous council's financial commitment to the Q Theatre but that had to be weighed against the rising cost and other spending priorities.
It could be that the arts community would be better served by doing up the St James Theatre in Queen St, he said.
The proposed Q Theatre is a flexible performing arts venue of 350 to 460 seats sited behind the Town Hall in Queen St. It would fill the gap for a medium-sized theatre since the demise of the Watershed Theatre in 1996.
Since 2004, the cost of the project has risen from $9 million to between $20 million and $21 million. In the past six months, the price has risen by nearly $3 million.
The theatre finds itself cast in a financial drama in which new mayor John Banks and Citizens & Ratepayers are looking for savings to keep rates at 4.8 per cent this year, the council's rate of inflation.
In December, officers recommended deferring the $9.2 million contribution for three years but fears that would sink the project led to the latest review.
Q Theatre general manager Susanne Ritzenhoff said she understood the council was reviewing capital projects but hoped councillors would look beyond bricks and mortar.
"It's a case of what priorities the new council sets for the city, what they want the city to look like in 20 years, how we build around a society. I believe the arts play a vital role in doing that."
Ms Ritzenhoff said reasons for the rising costs included the need for additional soundproofing between the Town Hall green room and the theatre, an increase in the number of seats and increased building costs of about $1 million a year. She said the Q Theatre initiative had got to the stage where it believed the project could be built for about $21 million if work began this year.
Design work was at the stage of detailed drawings, which had been priced by a quantity surveyor.
Counting the council's contribution, the project has more than 80 per cent of the money needed. This includes a $4.5 million grant from the ASB Community Trust.
Playwright Roger Hall has written to all councillors in support of the project, saying there was a huge demand for the performing space the Q Theatre would provide.
"I urge you to continue giving this support," he said.
The finance and strategy committee will review the project on Tuesday.
* DRAMATIC RISE
2004 $9 million
2005 $12.5 million
2007 $17.8 million
2008 $20 to $21 million
