Mass. theater owners fear casinos will outbid them for singers, comics, traveling plays

Mass. theaters: Casinos will outbid us for shows

BOSTON — Community theaters and performing art centers are worried they could face unfair competition and lose business if a proposal to allow resort style casinos in Massachusetts is approved.

House lawmakers are set to debate a bill Tuesday that would allow two resort casinos and up to 3,000 slot machines at the state’s four race tracks. Local theaters, many of them located in the heart of some of the state’s struggling downtown areas, fear such casinos could easily outbid them for the singers, comedians and traveling Broadway plays that are their bread and butter.

The theater owners are particularly worried about so-called “radius clauses” that often are included contracts performers sign with casinos. They typically bar performers from booking shows at other venues, such as community theaters, within 90 or 100 miles of the casino for a set period of a time — from three months to a year or more.

Local theater owners say allowing even two casinos in Massachusetts could claim all the best available talent, leaving them few headline acts to book. They say they would have trouble competing because casinos can sell lower-priced tickets to lure in patrons, hoping to make up the money at the slot machines or betting tables.

Some Massachusetts theaters already are competing for talent with casinos in Connecticut.

Troy Siebels, executive director of Worcester’s Hanover Theater, said he’s not opposed to casinos, he’s just worried he won’t be able to keep the doors open on the 2,300-seat non-profit theater in downtown Worcester.

“It’s about getting the performers on the stage to get people coming through our doors,” he said.

It’s not just single performers, either. The Hanover Theater also lost out on the chance to book the popular Broadway play “Hairspray,” Siebels said.

Siebels isn’t alone.

Community theaters and performance centers in Lowell, Boston, New Bedford and Springfield also are worried about the economic fallout from casinos, according to Jeff Poulos, executive director of Executive Director of StageSource, the Greater Boston Theatre Alliance, which represents 220 theaters and 2,000 theater performers across New England.

Poulos said most of the casinos are supposed to serve a dual purpose, not only booking shows and providing space for community events like dance recitals and graduations, but also helping revitalize city centers and giving an economic boost to the surrounding restaurants, bars and night spots.

“If the argument for casinos is jobs, then the question needs to factor in the job loss that’s going to happen in the downtown communities,” he said.

Operators of Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun casino are among those hoping to open a casino in Massachusetts. The company last year opened an office in Palmer to build public support for a casino in the western part of the state.

In a written statement Monday, Mohegan Sun chief executive Jeff Hartmann said the company already has reached out to cultural institutions around Springfield and Worcester “to make sure our project is a constructive fit for everyone in the region.” Hartmann said it’s too soon to tell what kind of compromises might be made.

The concerns of theater owners are registering with lawmakers.

Rep. Peter Kocot, said he’s still weighing whether to support House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s casino bill. Kocot said he’s worried the casinos could harm local performing arts centers in his district, from the MassMutual Center in Springfield to music spots on Northampton.

“I want to make sure this casino bill protects one of the major economic drivers in my district which is cultural tourism,” said Kocot, D-Northampton.

Several amendments are being proposed for the casino bill to help protect local performing arts centers.

Rep. Brian Dempsey, House chairman of the Committee on Economic Development Committee, said he included language in the bill in response to those concerns. Dempsey said anyone seeking a casino license in Massachusetts will have to show they are ready to collaborate with the surrounding communities.

“We put the burden on the applicant as part of the process to tell us how they propose to work with the local theaters,” said Dempsey, D-Haverhill. “The burden is on the applicant as part of their proposal to tell us how they hope to integrate with the existing community.”

Dempsey said the state can’t place restrictions on radius clauses in contracts negotiated between casinos and booking agents.

Siebels is pushing for an amendment that would bar casinos from booking Broadway shows and limit the number of seats in casino theaters to 1,000.

Other amendments would set up special mitigation funds, using money from casinos to help aid local theaters and performance arts centers.

Siebels said he’s less a fan of the mitigation funds.

“It doesn’t solve the problem,” he said. “It may keep me in a job, but it doesn’t keep people coming in the door.”