I will commend Mr. Toll with what seems to be a financial turnaround at the Pavilion. He has proven something I have known a long time about this city, the private money is out there, you just have to dig in the right places;
By tapping friends and acquaintances in the region, he and his supporters began a grassroots fund drive, which quickly amassed more than $720,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.
Maybe the mayor should tap Mr. Toll to raise private money for the Events Center?
Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether likes Toll’s style.
“I have had the opportunity to work with Larry on other projects and with nonprofits in the past, so when I heard he was leading the Pavilion, I shouted out a hearty ‘Hallelujah,’ ” Huether said.
“Larry is bringing even more business acumen to the Pavilion, and we are already reaping the rewards because of it,” Huether said.
But is business acumen enough to run an arts and entertainment facility? Who knows, but it pays pretty good;
Toll’s salary is $99,000 annually as head of the many divisions there:
Actually, this kind of surprised me. As I understood it, I thought Toll was volunteering his time, or at least it sounded like that in the local media. Not that I don’t think he should get paid for what he does, I was just a little taken back that he was getting paid at all.
While past leaders had arts backgrounds, Toll does not. That’s OK, says Dan Rykhus, vice chairman of the Pavilion’s board of trustees. Choosing shows and tending to the artistic details is the job of the staff, said Rykhus, president and CEO of Raven Industries.
Toll says he relied on his staff to schedule the performing arts seasons. The lineup includes offerings from Broadway, comedy, music, dance, family productions and theater for young people. His visual arts staff arranges for shows in the galleries, too.
This is also another reason why I was surprised he is receiving a salary. If he is just simply and advocate and fundraiser for the facility, why not just pay him a commission? Which I get to point out;
Perhaps someone with more of an arts background should lead the Pavilion, says artist Scott L. Ehrisman, who says he’s a Pavilion supporter but who sometimes voices criticism of the management and funding.
“Mr. Toll is a former executive from the corporate world, much like our mayor, and I find Mike struggling with the bureaucratic world,” Ehrisman said. Department heads are running the Pavilion, with Toll as more of a figurehead, he said.
“I still think the Pavilion needs a director with actual entertainment experience, much like the late Russ DeCurtin the Arena had,” Ehrisman said.
“I think the Pavilion needs to get more diverse in their entertainment choices,” he said. “They will have to compete very soon with the Grand Falls Casino, and now is the time to act, not to just talk about it.”
I think the best thing the Pavilion could do is bring in a strong entertainment director and change Toll’s title to chief fundraiser. Like I said above, I think it is fantastic he is squeezing money out of some of the moldy old wallets of the pathetically rich in Sioux Falls. Now it’s time the Pavilion focus on their original vision and a motto that got me to vote for the facility and support it in the past,
“Something for Everyone.”
We are still waiting over a decade later.
Poor Jay Kirschman. He writes a heartfelt plea to have the Horse Barn reopened, and his punishment is to write a blow job on Toll.
I have noticed, for the first time since I’ve been back in SD (’03) that I KNOW in advance, via media advertising, what the entertainment line-up for thre season is – and by “in advance” by several months, and te entire lineup. In the past, it seemed to me that there was never a coordinated marketing effort that presented the Pavilion as a whole series of events. Instead, the focus was on just one event at a time, and short notice. Kind of amateurish, IMO, not unlike the “promotion” of church socials and so on – rather than a professional organization. Perhaps THAT is Toll’s contribution as well. Let the professional “arts” folks do the art part. Let the professional marketers SELL it.
I agree, they have the SD Rock & Roll hall of fame there now, so why wouldn’t they bring in some more diversified (ie Rock & Roll) acts?
There’s a lot of people who when they see an act they like get booked in Brookings or Sioux City who could & should easily fit into the Pavillion, they ask the question: “Why didn’t we try to bring them here?”
Sy – This is speculation of course, but I think one reason why you see acts in SC or Brookings before the Pavilion comes down to profit for the promoters. The Pavilion is expensive to rent. And I don’t think they like to cut deals.
IE, they aren’t recognizing market forces that they could take advantage of to the betterment of their bottom line.
It’s not like they have the wrong guy at the helm, Larry’s got the skills, how about we let him use them?
It’s always been well known that booking a show at the Pavilion (or the Orpheum) is not easy. The rent is too high, and their other requirements a tad over the top. It’s easier, cheaper, more profitable, and full of fewer headaches to take it to Sioux City or Brookings.
Sy – I do give Toll credit. I will have to admit I was pleasently surprised to see how much money they raised. I would rather come on here and post GOOD news about the Pavilion. I think the place has potential, and Larry is helping by pointing them in the right financial direction. I just think they should have him focus on that 100% instead of running the joint to. They really need an aggressive entertainment director who is willing to take chances. Some facilities set them up on a bonus program if the shows do well. It’s worth taking a look at. I would love to see some of my favorite acts there once or twice a month. I can’t even tell you the last time I saw a show there. The problem is that the Pavilion board and management don’t like to be criticized, and even when it is constructive they get pissed. Take the study that was done a few years back. They were told in order to make the Science Center more successful they should open it at night during the work week so working families could go to it and to diversify the Cinedome entertainment, like laser light shows. They tried both over a short period of time and it was wildly successful. So wouldn’t you continue? Nope. Because it wasn’t THEIR idea. That is what is frustrating.
Here is an example of frustration;
http://www.artssiouxfalls.org/ (go to BECOME A MEMBER)
Why would they charge for this? Why not just post the info for free on their website? They have it, they probably get it for free? Right? They say they want to foster the arts in the community, wouldn’t giving this info to artists for free be a great way of doing it? It seems they have strange ideas on how to raise money.
I also wonder how much money came from this fund (from the AL)
April 23, 2010
“…In addition, new tenants are on the way to the downtown Sioux Falls landmark at 11th and Main, to help share costs and add to the arts offerings there.
The administrative offices of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Sioux Empire Arts Council will move there from off-site locations in coming months.
The Dakota Academy of Performing Arts soon will move its programming into the Pavilion, too. And a Native American fine arts museum and gallery will be added.
The changes were made possible in part by more than $100,000 in grants the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation gave to local arts organizations, and a special fund drive in Sommervold’s honor that now stands at $580,000.
Sommervold, who toiled with other supporters for more than a decade to save the old Washington High School as an art center, died in November 2008. She also was the first president there.
“With these changes, the Pavilion will become what a lot of people expected it to be – center of the arts in Sioux Falls,” said Larry Toll, the Pavilion’s interim president and CEO who took over for former president Gary Wood. “A key piece is naming the Great Hall in Mary Sommervold’s honor.”
Toll, Dr. Milton Mutch and local businessman Ron Moquist launched the special fund drive following Sommervold’s death, starting with about $20,000 in Sommervold bequests.
Toll said officials will consult with Sommervold’s family to decide on the exact name for the Great Hall to honor her. “We’ll work with the family and do the dedication at the symphony concert in November,” he said.
The 1,900-seat Great Hall never has been named, he said. It and the smaller Belbas Theater have functioned under the umbrella organization called the Husby Performing Arts Center. That relationship remains intact with the Husby center still the overall organization that brings performances to the building.
The biggest problem this town has always had is that the people in charge of providing the entertainment know little or nothing about music. In 1987, John Steever and I were initially turned down when we wanted to bring the Replacements to town because “nobody knew who they were”. John convinced the powers in charge that it would be a successful event, and we had 1500 people show up. 25 years later, we’re living in a time when the so-called superstars aren’t much more successful than the cult acts that Scott and I both enjoy. A band like the Decemberists are not household names, but would draw close to as many people as the silly celebrity pop queens that dominate Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine. Utilizing the Pavilion and Belbas to capitalize on those that listen to podcasts, Pandora, and satellite radio seems to me a no-brainer. Unfortunately, we’re going to continue to only see the returns of middle-of-the-road 70’s icons. There’s nothing wrong with those shows, as long as they’re accompanied by other shows that bring in different demographics.
Sounds like Toll wants to ‘pay it forward’ from his appreciation for how he has fared well within the community . He’s lead the Paviilion toward profitability. Commendable and I thought impossible. Giving back appreciatively is a much better approach than the Huether CEO thing. When a CEO is successful, he steals the profits leaving investors without a reward and relieved of their investment. A man or woman like Toll would make a good mayor for 2014.
The biggest problem this town has always had is that the people in charge of providing the entertainment know little or nothing about music.
Exactly why I have felt, for at least the last 3 years I’ve read your take on the EC, YOU should be on that entertainment board.
A post 4 years down the road.
It’s always been well known that booking a show at the Avera/Sanford Center is not easy. The rent is too high, and their other requirements a tad over the top. It’s easier, cheaper, more profitable, and full of fewer headaches to take it to the Tyson Center.
LMAO!
Poly rules.
Sanford on the Events Center would become associated with doom. It’s like naming a ship ‘Titanic’.
The difference between utilizing what we have now for music and building a new events center is that we will go from 1970’s middle of the road icons to 1980’s middle of the road icons.
Come on twisted sister reunion.
…which wouldn’t fill the Pavilion.