SONY CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Executive Summary to Staff Reports Outlining Strategic Plan & Budget for 2014-15 BACKGROUND: At its meeting of September 26, 2011, City Council considered the Core Service Review completed by KPMG and authorized the City Manager to issue a Request for Expression of Interest (“REOI”) to determine the options for sale, lease, operation or other arrangement in respect of the three major civic theatres, including the Sony Centre. (http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2011.EX10.1.) The report can be found on pages 101-108: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-39626.pdf On September 29, 2011, the Mayor established a Task Force – Arts & Theatres. The Task Force examined the role that the civic theatres play in the city’s culture, economy and community. The Task Force recommended essential criteria for each of the three theatres for the REOI, along with other recommendations for consideration. An REOI was issued by the City in May 2012 to consider options for the future of the civic theatres, including the Sony Centre. The options were to include the sale, lease, operations or any other arrangements for any or all of the three theatres to meet the City’s cultural, social and economic goals. At its meeting held on November 27, 28 and 29, 2012 City Council adopted Item EX25.5 concerning the results of the REOI. At that time, City Council recognized the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and the Toronto Centre for the Arts as community cultural assets and directed the Boards of these two theatres, in consultation with the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, to develop long term strategic and five- year business plans that ensure creative, cost effective and sustainable operations, minimize the City's tax funding, include performance measures for its service to the community, and provide for operating and capital reserves. Sony Centre For The Performing Arts 1 In considering recommendations concerning Item EX25.5, the Executive Committee deferred consideration of recommendations regarding the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts for 120 days, and requested the Sony Centre Board to develop and submit to the City of Toronto through the City Manager's Office, a long-term strategic plan and a five-year business plan for the Centre to continue as a City-owned theatre, which will substantially reduce or eliminate the City's subsidy. At its meeting on September 12, 2013 and following a presentation on the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts by Cultural Asset Management Group (“CAMG”, the consultants hired by the City and the Sony Centre Board to help develop a long term strategic plan), the Board of Directors of the Hummingbird (Sony) Centre for the Performing Arts took the following action: 1. Directed the Strategic Planning and Finance Committees of the Board to develop proposals for implementation and related revised Centre 2014 budget adjustments reflecting the changes for consideration by the Board and possible submission to City Council. 2. Endorsed and will participate in a Toronto Theatres Working Group (“TWG”) to explore the selected options described in the Strategic Plans of all three theatres and consider the Performing Arts Centre model for the City of Toronto. The Working Group may comprise Board Chairs, Vice-Chairs and other Board members of the three municipal theatres – the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and the Toronto Centre for the Arts, as well as other key stakeholders, as the Working Group deems appropriate, including City of Toronto and Cultural sector representatives. 3. Directed Sony staff to price and offer services to other theatres, City divisions, agencies, and clients, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 4. Directed Sony staff to create a plan and budgets for community and educational programming for consideration by the Board and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 5. Directed the Board Chair, the Chief Executive Officer and staff to take steps to have the Centre staff and the City to stop any further reference to the Sony Centre as a “commercial theatre” and to request that City staff support, lobby on behalf of and carry forward all Centre applications to any funding bodies, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 6. Directed Sony staff to begin to develop programming to capitalize on opportunities for WorldPride 2014, Pan American/Parapan American Games 2015, and the Canadian Sesquicentennial 2017, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. Sony Centre For The Performing Arts 2 7. Directed Sony staff to advance discussions with the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, regional theatres, the National Arts Centre, and others to explore programming opportunities and other collaborative partnerships, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 8. Directed Sony staff to cost and plan educational and community programming, part time and full time programming staff and to explore partnerships as required, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 9. In support of the programming initiatives and attracting rentals, the Board directed programming staff, when evaluating programming opportunities, to consider benefits-based flexible pricing, comprehensive costs, revenues and other benefits to the Centre and citizens as well as other factors in portfolio management, and report back to the Board on a plan to do so for its next meeting on October 3, 2013. 10. Directed Sony staff to make no long term contractual commitments – specifically ticketing systems – that would inhibit the Sony Centre’s ability to implement a new operating model. 11. Directed the Chair to arrange for the Centre to contract additional resources to plan, prepare and facilitate implementation as required, and report back to the Board as appropriate. 12. Directed Sony staff to pay CAMG’s invoice in the amount of $5,292.47 inclusive of HST to cover the additional legal expenses of Iler Campbell LLP to compare the Sony Centre unionized labour agreements against the unionized labour agreements of other GTA theatres and to provide an assessment and an opinion which has been included in the CAMG Part 3 and 4 report. In response to the Board’s direction at the September 12th meeting, Sony Centre staff provided reports to the Board at its meeting on October 3, 2013, specifically responding to numbered items 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the previous meeting’s resolutions. The Board of Directors of the Hummingbird (Sony) Centre for the Performing Arts then took the following action: 1. Endorsed and requested City Council to approve the establishment of a Theatres Working Group (“TWG”) to explore a new Performing Arts Centre model for the City of Toronto. The Theatres Working Group would explore closer co-operation between the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, The Toronto Centre for the Arts and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts and third parties with respect to providing greatly enhanced services to the City of Toronto, directly and through co-operating third parties, and explore means to realize significant efficiencies and leverage each other’s human and physical assets. Sony Centre For The Performing Arts 3 2. Recommended that the TWG comprise Board Chairs and other members of the three municipal theatres as well as other key stakeholders including the City of Toronto and cultural sector representatives. The TWG would bring recommendations for the City to consider a plan for all three theatres that incorporates the individual strategic plans of each theatre but also looks at the potential for a shared vision with a revised rationale and mandate to reposition the civic theatres within Toronto’s cultural landscape. 3. Approved the report to the Board Part 4 Executive Summary prepared by CAMG (which was distributed at the meeting) and approved the submission of a request to the City for an incremental amount of $1,131,400 to cover the extra costs of programming, marketing and development, as set forth in the Sony Centre Staff reports presented to this meeting and which were based on the CAMG reports submitted to date. 4. Authorized and directed Sony Centre Management to consult with City Finance and the City Manager’s Office in the preparation of a 3 year budget for the Sony Centre to meet the City’s 2014 budget deadlines, and report back to the Board in this regard. 5. Authorized Sony Centre Management to provide City Finance and the City Manager’s Office with relevant background material, including the Strategic Planning reports prepared by Sony Centre Management and the reports prepared by CAMG. At its special meeting of the Sony Centre Board on October 24, 2013, the Chair of the Board of Directors directed Sony staff to draft, based on comments from Board Members, a revised mandate for the Centre to be given to CAMG. The Chair further directed Sony staff to prepare a financial plan that links with the priorities and initiatives of the CAMG strategic plan which would be a revised or supplemental submission to the 2014 budget request being considered by the City, and which would include a budget for 2015 as well. At its meeting on November 6, 2013, the Board of Directors of the Hummingbird (Sony) Centre for the Performing Arts approved the strategic plan and budget for 2014-15, as submitted by the Sony Centre staff, subject to the following amendments: 1.