MEDICINE HAT – The City Centre Development Agency Purchased the Monarch Theatre back in 2009.
It’s one of the oldest movie theatres still in operation in all of Canada.
For the first time since the CCDA purchased it, the Monarch has turned a profit.
According to figures provided to CHAT News by CCDA Chair Jeremy Silver, 2017 was a good year for the theatre’s bottom line.
Net income in 2017 was $5,969.75. In 2016 there was a loss of $16,208.30 and a year before that the theatre lost $27,814.
Silver says a big part of the turn around is due to a restructuring of the CCDA.
“I think the biggest savings from the Monarch is merging the operations manager from the CCDA, into the operations manager position from the Monarch,” said Silver.
Silver said there’s also been a big increase in ticket sales. Compared to 2016, Silver said ticket sales in 2017 nearly doubled.
“We broke a record a few weeks ago, we had 310 people here for a movie,” he said. “[It] is a reflection of how much hard work and love has gone into the Monarch Theatre.”
Silver also addressed some of the past controversy surrounding the Monarch. In 2015 some former employees came forward saying they had experienced workplace harassment.
Police investigated the claims, but said nothing criminal had occurred. Kara Security was also hired by the CCDA to commission a report into the allegations. That report has never been made public.
Silver admitted that part of the theatre’s recent history is unfortunate, but said they are trying to move forward in a positive direction.
“The entire CCDA is totally new, the board is all new, the staff are all new, there is nothing left from the agency from two years ago,” said Silver.
“We’re not going to do things the same way. We realize there were problems in the past and we would like to move beyond them and focus on improving things.”
The CCDA is still repaying an interest free loan to the City of Medicine Hat, which was used to help cover the costs of purchasing the theatre.
The loan is repaid at a rate of $20,000 a year. That expense isn’t included in the Monarch budget and instead is included in the separate CCDA budget.
The CCDA said any money the Monarch makes is put back into repairs and upgrades for the 107 year old theatre, which is now designated as a municipal historic resource.
The organization is hoping to see a profit again for 2018.
