'Unacceptable!' Orchestra head sounds off on planned TCU Place cutbacks

The plan isn't hitting the right notes with the executive director of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

The equivalent of 2.76 full-time positions set to be axed in this week's Budget 2018 talks

Guy Quenneville · CBC News · Posted: Nov 26, 2017 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 26, 2017

TCU Place wants to axe nearly three full-time equivalent positions at the downtown theatre and convention venue. That means fewer hours for part-time and casual staff.

City-owned TCU Place says it wants to eliminate the equivalent of 2.76 full-time jobs at the downtown theatre hall and convention centre.

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If approved by Saskatoon city councillors this week during 2018 budget talks, the cut would affect part-time and casual workers in the building's box office, administration and event-services sections in the form of reduced hours.

The Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium and Convention Centre Corporation, which runs TCU Place, is responding to "less event activity as well as a shift in consumer preference toward online ticket purchasing," according to the city.

The TCU Place box office area — one of three areas that would be affected by the cuts if they're approved by city councillors during budget debates this week. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

"What we mean by this is a decrease in the number of events hosted in our facility," said Matt Petrow, the corporation's director of finance.

The plan isn't hitting the right notes with the executive director of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (SSO), which plays in TCU Place's Sid Buckwold Theatre.

"The SSO will be seeking answers on this," wrote Mark Turner to Mayor Charlie Clark and several city councillors on Twitter.

I am disgusted at this - TCU Place has posted 1M in surplus for years...why cuts? Why to a sector that benefits everyone in Saskatoon? <a href="https://twitter.com/charlieclarkyxe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@charlieclarkyxe</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BevDubois?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BevDubois</a> the <a href="https://twitter.com/SSOyxe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SSOyxe</a> board will be placing this first on board meeting. Unacceptable! <a href="https://t.co/AwZIrhGMTJ">https://t.co/AwZIrhGMTJ</a>
—@marktyxe

"I believe TCU Place's financials should be public record, but I can't seem to find them online," Turner added.

A member of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra dressed as Darth Vader confers with a TCU Place colleague during an April 2017 Star Wars concert. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

CBC News requested financials going back several years from the corporation on Friday but has yet to receive them.

The corporation's projected 2018 operating budget forecasts a surplus of $1 million next year.

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According to city budget figures, TCU Place has been home to an average of 800 events and conventions, plus 60 booked events at the theatre, in recent years.

Losing business to Prairieland Park: union

Glen Green, the president of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 300, which represents unionized workers at TCU Place, says the proposal is disappointing.

"We're not likely to experience any kind of lessening of the people needed with our expertise," he said of stagehands. "Nonetheless, any cutback in the staff of the building is going to affect how everybody operates."

Green says TCU Place has lost business to other venues in the city, including Prairieland Park — recently home to everything from Saskatoon Fan Expo to the Eid al-Fitr end-of-Ramadan celebration.

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"They've vastly improved their ability to host events and have put on a professional face to events," he said.

An attendee at last September's Saskatoon Comic Expo, hosted at rival convention venue Prairieland Park. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Green also claims TCU Place's staff has been been steadily cut back in recent years.

But that's not backed by budget numbers from the City of Saskatoon: from 2014 to 2017, the number of full-time equivalent positions at TCU Place has held steady at around 65.5, the city says.

The proposed cuts in 2018 would knock that down to 62.5.