New 'brand' for city attractions to help draw in more customers

A report by a panel of three city councillors will go before Hull Council's Cabinet next week recommending a series of improvements to the historic sites to arrest a steady decline in ticket sales.

A total of 308,000 tickets were sold across both venues in 2005-06 but in 2008-09 only 255,000 were sold.

Under new plans, it is hoped to increase revenue while cutting the amount of council subsidy the venues require, with a profit target of nearly 4.5m over the current financial year in spite of expenditure cuts of six per cent.

The panel found the city hall was "significantly" under used and the theatre performed poorly when compared to similar venues in other cities.

Hull New Theatre staged 341 performances in 2008-9, compared to 422 at Wolverhampton Grand, 396 at Norwich Theatre Royal, 385 at Newcastle Theatre Royal, and 384 at Nottingham Theatre Royal.

The Hull theatre also had significantly fewer members – 1,000 – than those venues, with Norwich Theatre Royal topping the list with 10,600 members. Panel chairman Coun John Fareham said he was surprised by how little the city hall was used.

He said: "The city hall was shut more days than it was open – how insane is that?

"It's not rocket science to say hang on, we've got to pay rates for 12 months a year whether we use the building or not, if we use it more we cut costs and raise profits."

The report also calls for vast improvements to the catering and bar facilities at both venues.

Coun Fareham said: "If you look at cinemas they make more money from hot dogs and drinks than they do from showing films, so why are we missing out?

"We need to introduce more commerciality. It's about getting more bums on seats at less cost to the taxpayer."

As well as scheduling more performances, the report also suggests the quality and breadth of programming is reviewed to increase the customer base, and appeal to younger audiences in particular at the city hall.

A survey showed younger people wanted to see more rock concerts and comedy events at the city hall. Coun Fareham said: "Sometimes you walk past the booking office and it's nothing but cover bands and tribute bands, it's not very imaginative."

There is also a call to do away with the traditional "dark" period between July and September when few indoor events are booked.

Other suggestions include targeted community support officer patrols of car parks used by theatre-goers to make them feel safer and allowing parking tickets to be exchanged for catering or other products.

Online ticket booking could also be made easier and allow customers to book food or other services at the same time.

Better signs are needed both to and in the venues, the report said, and staff could be retrained to provide more assistance and advice to customers.

Research found the biggest barrier to increased attendance was the price of tickets. But the panel said it wanted to increase people's enjoyment of the venues even if that did not generate more revenue for the authority.

The report said: "While acknowledging the need to provide a full and balanced events programme and take advantage of commercial opportunities, the panel is also keen to see as many residents as possible come through the doors of both venues, even if at times the effect is cost neutral."