Sudbury's Place des Arts is still in the red, but its finances are improving
The venue spent $100K more than it earned last year, compared to the $700K deficit it ran in 2023
Almost three years since it first opened its doors, Sudbury's Place des Arts hasn't broken even yet – but its finances have improved in the past year.
Interim director Denis Bertrand says the downtown francophone event centre ended the latest fiscal year with a $100,000 operating deficit, an improvement from the $700,000 deficit it ran in 2023.
"We've made a $600,000 turnaround," said Bertrand. "We've had a substantial increase in the number of organizations that rent our spaces."
Place des Arts had almost had 900 bookings this year, up from the 600 it had the year before.
Bertrand says being in the red once more this year won't hurt the event centre's ability to offer programming.
"We don't believe these challenges will hinder the development of Place des Arts," he said, adding that efforts are underway to boost revenues.
The organization would like to eventually open up a professional development institute that would offer training programs for managers, art workers and artists.
Bertrand says Place des Arts has been in talks with post-secondary institutions to collaborate on offering certificates.
"We are hoping to bring in students from across the country," said Bertrand.
Funding proposals have been submitted to support this project.
In the meantime, the venue continues to benefit from government grants, including a $260,000 annual contribution from the City of Greater Sudbury.
Overall, though, Bertrand isn't concerned about the long-term viability of the event centre. "We're all very optimistic about the future of Place des Arts, otherwise we wouldn't be here."
Bertrand is the third person to lead the organization, after the sudden resignation of Jean-Gilles Pelletier last year.
The board president of Place des Arts, Greater Sudbury councillor René Lapierre, previously told CBC the organization anticipated it would run a deficit in its first years of operation when it submitted its business proposals back in 2014.