Mareel - Cinema & Music Venue

(** mod edit - this discussion started on Jan 7th 2006. The new poll was started on Mar 14th 2007. Bear in mind that plans for the venue may alter over time. Check more recent posts in this thread for up to date information **)

(***Mod Edit - This poll has now been closed (27/01/2009) as it is no longer relevant to the thread. Results are as follows:-
(New poll) Do you think a new Cinema/Music Venue should be built in Shetland?
Yes 44% [ 104 ]
Yes, but not current proposal 18% [ 42 ]
No 34% [ 79 ]
Undecided 3% [ 7 ]
Total Votes : 232
***)



The Council are already committed to building a brand new, purpose built cinema & music venue in Lerwick at a cost of £9.1 million. They will receive £2m from the Scottish Arts Council, but will have to fund the remaining cost themselves.

This appears to have gone ahead with very little public consultation. I would be interested to see what the Shetland public would prefer to see - a purpose built venue or an upgrade of existing venues.

Films are already shown on a monthly basis at the Garrison Theatre by Islesburgh Trust in conjunction with Filmobile (Scotland) Ltd. They have seen a steady decline in attendances at the cinema year on year. Many people complain it is because of the poor rake and bad seating. However, surely if someone wanted to see a current film on its national release date, they would be quite happy to pay £5 to see it in the theatre?

A new venue is going to struggle to get the films as up to date as Filmobile can supply them, and at such a reasonable cost to the public. (Example - "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" opened at the Garrison on the same day as it did on the mainland... for the second year in a row. Orkney are only showing it now!)

The venue will have to be heavily subsidised by the Council to maintain it each year to stop the costs being passed on to the public through ticket prices, etc.

What do you think?

Sorry, I should have said the £2m funding was from the lottery fund, not the SAC.

Well i go the the Garrison films and many a day im there at a realy good film im sitting with a handfull of people, baring in mind its a new film the new cinema would have to take it for a number of weeks (cinemas dont get new films unless the promise to take them for 4 - 8 weeks) the loss in that film must be great!

I realy dont think the actual nitty gritty of the day to day running costs have been looked into correctly. This is a direct failure of the Arts Trust (because they realy want there own theatre/music venue) no one has realy asked these questions:

1. will they realy get new films or will it be like Orkney and the new Western Isles cinemas and have to waite for at least 4 weeks before they are allowed films for the reasons given above?

2. will they be able to programme 50 weeks of music events in the place when at the moment they hardly do 12 in a year?

3. what will actualy be programmed into the Garrison when the new building is there and running? I work out the new Arts Agency will then have 3 venues to fill 50 weeks of the years, thats 2 in the new building and the Garrison

4. When they have spent all this millions, how much will the tickets actualy be - remembering that most cinemas cant run withough the money from familys. puting up ticket prices will have a negitive affect you might get the film buffs going but would the masses afford it?

5. has anyone from Shetland ever been to Orkney and the Western Isles and asked them how many people go and how old are their films - then compare it to Shetland

or why dont we spend one million and do the Garrison up to cinema standards of comfort?

i know what i would do

I agree with you both - it will never pay

Yup, the words white and elephant spring to mind.

And also the words ice-rink and bowling alley when 9.1 million are at stake.

Couch potatoes or olympic prospects?

Muso part-time elite or beer, bowls and burgers

Don't even start me on demographics and reasons for population decline...

AND as someone pointed out to me the other day, the heating system for the clickimin could be used as a heat exchanger for the ice-rink

I've never been asked whether or not I would support a new cinema / music venue and neither has anyone I've ever spoken to about this. How then, with such dubious research as a basis, can the spending of such huge sums of Council money be justified at a time when they're constantly bleating about the need to make savings?

There's just no way it can run at anything other than a huge loss and I think it would be much better to upgrade existing facilities - which should cost a fraction of the sums mentioned so far.

Aaaaahhh, NOW we have answer.... Billy Stove, when questioned on Radio Shetland tonight as to why SIC was going ahead with the venue despite overspending - again - said that tourism was the future for Shetland and tourists would flock to Shetland if they had a year-round venue to listen to music in.....????

Am I missing something? Are they only allowed to listen to music at certain times of the year at the moment??

No mention of the cinema in his answer - the tourists will surely no be going to that bit of it then!

Thats the same Billy Stove who said he'd like to see a causeway built to Bressay! Say no more!!

Aaaaahhh, NOW we have answer.... Billy Stove, when questioned on Radio Shetland tonight as to why SIC was going ahead with the venue despite overspending - again - said that tourism was the future for Shetland and tourists would flock to Shetland if they had a year-round venue to listen to music in.....????

 

Am I missing something? Are they only allowed to listen to music at certain times of the year at the moment??

 

No mention of the cinema in his answer - the tourists will surely no be going to that bit of it then!

No they wont go to the cinema here, as the films will be so old they have been and gone in the cinemas south before the films will ever get here.

as iv said before just look on how late they are in Orkney and the Western Isles - thats if their not on Dvd first!

The man does not know what hes going on about - glad i didnt vote for him!

They would never fill the bums on seats to fill the place

Well if anyone is still reading this topic then seems to me that if there was money in running a cinema then we would have one called the North Star.

Well if anyone is still reading this topic then seems to me that if there was money in running a cinema then we would have one called the North Star.

i totaly agree if ther was money in it the cinema would be in the north star.

the new buildings will need 300 people in everyday to make it pay even - wonder where 300 people are going to come from? do 300 people come off the boat everyday?

I think that your poll questions tried to influence people to choose the second box, which I did.

I think that your poll questions tried to influence people to choose the second box, which I did.

i disagree with your there, its quite simple do you want to spend millions on a new build or do you want to spend less and 'do' up what we have to get a beter cinema. ald folk would call it make do and mend.

its all very well with a dream of somewhare afual boney and new but we must think on the costs. we might be getting the most of the dosh from south but we DO NOT AND NEVER WILL get the running costs money - which means we the shetland people have to pay in out local rates to keep it afloat.

I would love to get a new cinema, dont get me wrong, but i just dont think it will pay. iv been in the cinema as it is on my own with another 8 people. as the new cinema will have older films (like the Western isles and Orkney cinemas) i dont think the numbers will flock to it to make it pay.

I think that your poll questions tried to influence people to choose the second box, which I did.

 

i disagree with your there, its quite simple do you want to spend millions on a new build or do you want to spend less and 'do' up what we have to get a beter cinema. ald folk would call it make do and mend.

 

its all very well with a dream of somewhare afual boney and new but we must think on the costs. we might be getting the most of the dosh from south but we DO NOT AND NEVER WILL get the running costs money - which means we the shetland people have to pay in out local rates to keep it afloat.

 

I would love to get a new cinema, dont get me wrong, but i just dont think it will pay. iv been in the cinema as it is on my own with another 8 people. as the new cinema will have older films (like the Western isles and Orkney cinemas) i dont think the numbers will flock to it to make it pay.

Poll questions shouldn't be misleading. Thats like saying in a poll "because smoking is harmful to your health, do you think it should be made illegal".

I agree that it wouldn't bring enough to cover the cost, but it saves bullding another bloody sports facility

But no-one is speaking about building another sports facility, its a cinema and music venue they're on about now.