The Lion King was a tremendous success at the Durham Performing Arts Center. GM Bob Klaus tells me that 81,000 patrons attended 28 sell-out performances in January. Lion King in Durham was the most successful return engagement of a Broadway show in the history of Triangle theater!In the true spirit of baseball, I have more stats…
The DPAC released its attendance results for 2010 in early January. 307,000 visitors for concerts, Broadway shows and other events. A total of 151 performances. 59 were sellouts. (Read the full story in the Herald-Sun; click here.)
The theater has been a game-changer for downtown Durham. Our company is a founding sponsor. We’re proud of the DPAC’s success and how our neighbor compliments the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
In 2011 the DPAC and the DBAP will hold over 250 events attracting close to 700 thousand patrons.Here’s how things are likely to shake out…
DPAC events: 100 theater performances, 5-10 comedy shows, 10-15 family shows, 15-25 concerts, 20 American Dance Festival performances, 1-5 special events.
DBAP events: 18 Duke Baseball games, 13 ACC Baseball Tournament games, 72 Bulls regular season games, 2-4 USA Baseball Games, 10-15 special events.
On top of the theater and ballpark events, the American Tobacco campus is likely to host four or more festival-type events.
My first season with the Bulls was 2000, and we played our regular season and play-off games. A decade later we have a 230% increase in downtown events!
Recent DPAC story: Top Ten Theaters in US! (from Triangle Business Journal)
Next up at the ballpark: Duke Baseball commences on March 4th vs. LaSalle.
