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http://www. startribune.com/entertainment/onstage/9095 0204.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3 LGDi07aiU <br />Vf~„~ a Sa'~ <br />~ S {~ i' ~~ <br />~~~' ~ ~ ~~ ' ~'`~.~ ` ~/l'~tatrtrlbun~cttm <br />parks system. I view the center for the arts <br />as a form of park and. rec." <br />As a Bloomington City Council member, Mike <br />Possum voted against the center at first <br />because he didn't like the proposed site, <br />Now, he's a big fan. of the building, which is in <br />the same complex as the City Council <br />chambers. <br />"I've never heard a negative comment since it <br />was built," said Possum, who is secretary of <br />Bloomington's Housing and Redevelopment <br />Authority. "People complained about the <br />assessment of taxes for the arts center. But <br />all the critics have been silenced. It is used by <br />so many people in Bloomington. It's active <br />and vibrant 16, 18 hours a day." <br />In the past year, Burnsville might have had <br />only a few days that were quite so bustling. <br />But the critics and red ink don't rattle Steve <br />Peters, founder and president of Iowa-based <br />VenuWorks, which runs the Burnsville PAC, <br />along with more than a dozen. other theaters <br />and arenas in the Midwest. He compares this <br />ambitious south-metro venture to buying <br />your first expensive new car. <br />"The first several months, with. every little <br />thing, you have buyer's remorse," said Peters, <br />who was marketing director at Target Center <br />and recently became a partner in <br />Chanhassen Dinner Theaters (which. may <br />stage shows at Burnsville). "You hear that <br />little rattle and you're in the dealer's service <br />department." But soon you get accustomed <br />to the ride. <br />Whi e the Burnsville PAC may be as much of a <br />Lexus as the new Twins stadium, suburban. <br />arts centers are not everybody's field of <br />dreams. <br />"I've always disagreed with the philosophy of <br />'lf you build it, they will come,"' said John <br />Potter, executive director of the Phipps <br />Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wis. Rather, <br />the institution needs to develop multiple <br />audiences. He figures it took his 27-year-old, <br />privately funded center -- with its 247-seat <br />theater, seven art galleries and countless <br />classes for kids and adults -- a good 10 <br />years to hit its stride. <br />Hopkins Center for the Arts, which. opened a <br />new building on blighted Mainstreet in 1997, <br />needed eight years, said Susan Hanna-Bibus, <br />executive arts director there. "You need to be <br />patient. You need to think long-term, and <br />you have to be willing to try things. Like we <br />did a cabaret show for spoken word and hip- <br />hop, but we couldn't make it work financially. <br />That 20-something audience is hard to <br />Arlvertisi?mant <br />^ ~-~~__ <br />., rn~rla~rrc~rMr ~~a ~~r cacc l,`~$~+~ (~~ E' <br />CaBneLA• e#OrB4 <br />__. cr~uoa~e,a,esnam~eewRsa,bea,~xvn mytsti~tJ~k~.ecam,~ .~. <br />Print Powered By ~~ ~ ~ Dynamics <br />http://www.startribune.com/templates/fdcp? 1276288336622 <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />6/11/2010 <br />