At a time when the Kennedy Center is reeling from cratering financial losses due to Ric Grenell and the Board’s fiscal malpractice, they have added one more misstep to their mismanagement. The Washington Post just reported that the Center will bump two National Symphony Orchestra concerts in favor of the FIFA draw in early December. One is a Screening of Home Alone with live orchestra, which has been moved to The Anthem. The other is a MainStage classics concert with NSO conductor Noseda; it has been rescheduled to March. The kicker is that they will not charge FIFA for use of the hall. The Kennedy Center needs all the financial lifeboats it can find. Instead, Grenell and the Board thought it was fiscally responsible to allow a multi-billion-dollar organization to use the concert hall free of charge.
All of this comes amid a storm of Kennedy Center management’s own making. Namely, Grenell and Trump’s board have driven ticket sales into the Potomac, resulting in record-breaking losses. And yet, they still thought it was prudent to give FIFA control of the halls at the Kennedy Center for three weeks free of charge. As if their fiscal recklessness verging on malpractice didn’t speak for itself already, this just adds an extra weight to sink the Kennedy Center to the bottom of the Potomac.
I got some ideas for you Ric and the icks. How about offering the halls’ use to FIFA free of charge, but negotiating a significant gift to the NSO and WNO endowments? I would think a multi-BILLION dollar organization could handle such a lift. I mean, you and your cronies in the White House are adept at pay-for-play schemes. Let’s use it to the advantage of the Kennedy Center. You could ensure the Center and its institutions are financially solvent for the foreseeable future.
Alternatively, consider seeking a large donation from FIFA, calling it the FIFA Audience Endowment. Use that money to rebuild the Social Impact Initiative and provide free tickets to people from our communities who may never have had the opportunity to visit the Kennedy Center. (How about 40% of seats in the house get subsidized by this endowment to make up for the staggering losses you have caused.) This would serve two purposes: to expand the audience that gets to enjoy the Kennedy Center’s artistic excellence and to make up for the substantial losses in ticket revenue that you have overseen since taking the helm.
Ric and Kennedy Center Board Members, you have a tremendous opportunity. You can pick up the Kennedy Center and find creative ways to reverse the backsliding that has happened as a result of your own self-inflicted wounds; Bandage up the wounds and get to work. You are the fiscal shepherds of our premier performing arts center. It is not only your legal obligation to ensure financial health, but also a moral imperative. Put on those creative thinking caps and help the Kennedy Center stay afloat. Next time, take the lifeboat when one is offered.
We must push back against the current direction of partisan hacks at the helm of the Kennedy Center. Pack the House PURPLE in support of musicians, artists, and union workers who make the Kennedy Center great! Sign our Petition to hold Kennedy Center leadership accountable.
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