A while back, we told you about how the Friends of the Audi wanted to do another big project. This time around, the group of volunteers want to give the 850 seats in the Concord City Auditorium a face-lift.
And after officially announcing the project and fundraising campaign at Monday’s city council meeting, it’s time to put your money where, well, your behind sits.
If you’ve seen a show at the Audi, you know the seats need a freshening up. But for being the originals (that dates back to 1927), they’ve had a good run.
The goal now though is to raise $100,000 to take out each seat, retie the springs, cover them in burlap, add 2 inches of ultra foam padding and wrap in maroon naugahyde. The swivels will be lubricated and new seat number plates will be added.
Each seat costs $104 to do and once you add in the contingency and what not, the price tag hits six figures.
So they wouldn’t mind at all if you dropped off a check the next time you’re in the area.
“We’re not out knocking on doors,” said Betty Hoadley, who’s in charge of fundraising. “What we do is a little more subtle.”
The yearly mailing sent out prior to the season, which begins in September, will have all the info you need.
Over the years, there have been many big projects done through fundraising by the Friends. They have redone the lighting (all the LED), added the reception lobby and upgraded the cooling system.
“This is the first project that’s just for the people,” said Carol Bagan.
And each project has included a catchy name.
The seat restoration endeavor is no different: Go-pher the Best Seats in the House. The gum gopher, which has been a mainstay at the Audi since the Friends took over in 1991 and kept a watchful eye for potential gum chewers, was chosen as the latest mascot.
Of the $100,000, $25,000 has already been raised and used (they bought all the naugahyde up front) and the next $15,000 brought in will be matched by an anonymous donor. This is also a better alternative than replacing everything, which would cost a cool half mil.
“We’re accepting donation of anything from $10 to whatever you want to give,” Hoadley said.
The first row of the center section have been redone for people to try out and with extra seats that were previously taken out, you won’t even notice the work – until you sit in a new seat.
“It’s being done in a rolling way so the theater will never be closed,” Bagan said.
So really you can write a check for $10, $104 or the entire $75,000. It all depends on what kind of shape your bank account is in.
“Every dime that’s raised will go into the project,” Bagan said.
The hope is to have all the money raised by Christmas. But it’s up to all of you to make that happen.
For more info, email info@concordcityauditorium.org.
