Long awaited renovations to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville would 'totally transform' the building, but come with a hefty price tag - $100 million. The designs for those changes were unveiled Wednesday evening at the facility.
The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium is a part of the Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville. The facility - opened as the Asheville Civic Center and named the U.S. Cellular Center until January 1st of this year - also includes the ExploreAsheville.com Arena and a banquet hall. The Thomas Wolfe Auditorium opened separately 80 years ago, and the facility as it is known now will drastically change under the planned renovations unveiled Wednesday evening by the design firm Earl Swensson Associates. (You can see more here)
"This isn't a renovation, this is a transformation. It's a brand new facility," Harrah's Cherokee Center - Asheville general manager Chris Corl told BPR ahead of Wednesday evening's unveiling. "If we didn't have to use the name Thomas Wolfe (Auditorium), we wouldn't use it so people would truly understand this is not the same space."
Corl says the changes would take the capacity of the auditorium down to about 2,150 seats, and 1,900 for Asheville Symphony Orchestra concerts. He expects that other shows that typically skip Asheville because of the Thomas Wolfe's limitations would come once the renovations are complete, including Broadway shows. The lobby, concessions, and the number of bathrooms at the auditorium would triple under the renovations, and the 'load-in' door at the auditorium would also be extensively modified after years of complaints from artists. As for Asheville Symphony Orchestra shows, Corl says the changes would put audiences closer to the performers, while expanding the stage to allow for 100 musicians and up to a 160-member chorus. There would also be 'sound and light lock' hallways. "When you leave the seating chamber you would open the door to a dark and quiet hallway as opposed to a loud and well light lobby," Corl explains.
The $100-million price tag for the renovations includes $86-million for construction. Corl says they will lean heavily on corporate and philanthropic donations, though he adds at this point selling the naming rights of the auditorium is "not on the table but that certainly could be open for discussion." Corl says they will also seek funds from Buncombe County's occupancy tax, which is levied on hotel and other room rentals. Revenue from that tax is distributed by the county Tourism Development Authority, which is currently revising how it awards the money after years of complaints that too much is given to further tourism at the expense of locals who live in the area year-round. That process is scheduled to be completed in April. "We're really hoping to be one of the highlight projects that they're ready to fund at the end of that process," says Corl.
