11-26-2005 Our Dream Is Now A Reality

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Our Dream Is Now A Reality Page 1 of 2 � v%• 'Building a 21St Century City " ' rs Stephen J. Luecke, Mayor RELEASE FROM: FOR RELEASE: Office of the Mayor Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Our Dream Is Now A Reality The Morris Performing Arts Center will 'drop' the curtain on its "state of the art" Morris Marquee complete with large computer controlled full color LED display areas. The new marquee, custom created by Wagner Electric Sign Company is in the process of being installed by North American Signs and will be officially unveiled in a public ceremony on Wednesday, November 2nd. Festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the actual marquee lighting slated for 6:15 p.m. Funded by more than $750,000 in donations solicited entirely from the community to Morris Entertainment Inc., the new state-of-the-art marquee is one of the final steps in the process of restoring the 1920s Vaudeville-era building to its original grandeur. The Morris' original marquee was removed from the building sometime in the late 1950s. Its replacement for many years has been a flat reader board. The new state-of- the- art marquee, which includes chaser lights, search lights, and full color Daktronics ProStarO and Galaxy® display boards measures approximately 57 feet across and projects17' from the wall and will include a Daktronics full color LED electronic display on each face. The display board on the front face measures 34" by 39'6"with the end display boards each measuring 34" by 104". With a seating capacity of 2,560 patrons, the Morris is handicap accessible and is a rental facility. The Morris continues to be listed among the top '50 Theater Venues' in the nation according to Pollstar, a nationally recognized industry publication! In addition to national ratings, for the past three years our community has continually ranked the Morris Performing Arts Center as the best theater in the South Bend Tribune's Readers' Choice Award and this year the Morris earned further recognition in WNDU Viewers' Choice Award for favorite concert venue. These rankings help attract new business and supports continued business from promoters, agents and artists throughout the country. Because the Morris relies on promoters to keep bringing great events to its stage, the promoters who lease the theater must experience a positive return on their investment. The promoters need to sell more seats to our events which calls for more advertising and this is where our new "state of the art' marquee will be most beneficial. Results of a recent report,find that the Morris' economic impact on South Bend is approximately 3.12 million dollars per year. According to Dennis J. Andres, executive director of the Morris Performing Arts Center, "We would like to have more sell-out houses as that will help bring more promoters and shows to the Morris and the new marquee is key in this endeavor". "The Morris Performing Arts Center is one of the brightest stars in downtown South Bend - the center for arts, culture, and entertainment in our region," said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. "On a daily basis we now have the potential for over 100,000 people to view information provided on the new marquee as the traffic flow collectively traveling north on St. Joseph, west on Colfax and LaSalle streets averages 48,000 vehicles per day" Mayor Luecke concluded, "Thanks to the efforts of the Morris Entertainment Board, especially Margaret King and Duke Jones and Morris Staff, we are able to shine a light on this great facility for all to see" Contact: Sara Ermeti,Assistant Executive Director http://www.ci.south-bend.in.us/Press/Releases 2005/102605 Morris.htm 1/13/2006