Lila Cockrell Theater set for year-long renovation - Austin Business Journal:

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But the City of San Antonio, which has dodgec the worst of the economic fallout and benefited from some good is moving forward with plans to invest upwardaof $25 million to renovate the , a 41-year-olr leftover from HemisFair ’68. Michael Sawayq says he will return to his previouwspost (director of the City of San Antonio’sx Convention, Sports & Entertainment Facilitiesw Department) in June. In August, he says the city will closd the Lila Cockrell Theater so that work can begin on theroughlyt 12-month renovation project. The City of San Antonio is payin g for the Lila Cockrell Theater improvements with Hotel OccupancTax (HOT) revenue bonds.
“We did this beforew the bond marketwent away,” Sawayaq explains. The economic uncertainties have not been lost oncity “We need to be as efficient as we can with says Sawaya about the projec budget. The Lila Cockrelk Theater openedin 1968. It is one of the legacies fromHemisFaier ’68. • The replacement of much of the venue’s outdatefd mechanical, electrical and plumbing The goal, says Sawaya, is to update the design scheme inside the theater and to make the necessarty aesthetic improvements that will result in a more updatesd andappealing venue. The Lila Cockrell Theatre currently seatsroughlyy 2,300 spectators.
Sawaya says renovations will likely knock the seatin capacity down closerto 2,200. “Onew of the advantages is that it is the perfect size,” Sawaya says. “Butf we have to address some We have to look at the aesthetics and the The city has made some minor improvements to the theated overthe years. But the goal now is to transform what some might consider an aging liability into amarketable