By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Hays, Hutchinson, Kingman, and Wichita are among the many Kansas communities that have transformed old theaters into modern concert and event venues. Great Bend will soon add itself to that list. On Aug. 31, the Great Bend City Council approved $68,450 in sound and lighting improvements at the Crest Theatre in downtown Great Bend. Parr Sound & Lighting submitted the lone bid for the work, and Councilman Gary Parr explained the importance of the project.
“The nostalgic value that building has right here in the heart of Great Bend, doing what we’re proposing to do, there would be a shock and awe factor when you walked in the front doors if we completed what we’re thinking about completing,” Parr said. “None of the other facilities would have what we have if we put a 265-inch video wall and all the sound and lighting and trussing.”
Mayor Alan Moeder explained the project has been in the works for a while. All of a sudden, the project gained real momentum.
“It’s an interesting deal,” Moeder said. “(City Administrator Logan Burns) and I have been talking about it for over two years. I sat down and was talking to a couple business people. Before I know it, we had $30,000 raised for a concert. Then, we found out the sound system wasn’t going to work for the concert, so that’s where we’re at now.”
The goal would be to host four to five concerts a year, bringing additional traffic and revenue to the city of Great Bend. Great Bend Community Theater and other organizations that use the Crest would also benefit from the upgraded technology.
“The thing we have to our advantage is we have more seating than Hays does, and we have more seating than the Fox in Hutchinson does, and those are great facilities,” Parr said. “Right now, we have a total of about 550 seats.”
Last Monday’s decision came down to numbers. Moeder has been instrumental in securing private donations. Those donations, added to a CPI Qualify of Life Grant, total $77,375. Holding back $30,000 for the proposed concert in the spring would leave $47,375. The council approved the use of $21,075 from the city’s contingency fund to secure the sound and lighting bid.
The city also received one bid from Satellite Pros to install the video board for $44,995. Though there is enough in the city’s contingency fund to cover that purchase as well, the council voted to table that decision until the Sept. 21 meeting to get a better grasp on available donation funds. The city opened bids on Aug. 21, and the bids received are good for 30 days up to the Sept. 21 meeting.