The National Arts Centre has cancelled its student matinee performances and is offering fewer parking spaces amidst the $110-million renovation project that broke ground in February.
The NAC hosted their annual general meeting on March 6, opening a discussion with the public about issues that will be faced by patrons during the renovations and possible solutions to overcome the inconvenience.
Rosemary Thompson, director of communications, says the matinee performances had to be cancelled because renovations began six months earlier than originally planned.
“The cancellations were unfortunate,” says Thompson, “but we notified all of the schools and they understood why we had to do this and it worked out well.”
Thompson says the shows were cancelled because construction takes place during the day from midnight until 2 p.m.
“The good news is that all of the public evening performances are going ahead as scheduled,” says Thompson. “The bulk of our performances, more than 90 per cent, happen at night.”
A satellite box office is now operating from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 54 Elgin St. The NAC box office will operate only from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The 1,000-spot parking garage will lose 90 spots because of the ongoing construction.
The NAC reached out to its 30,000 newsletter subscribers to inform them of the changes.
“We got over 100 responses,” says Thomspon. “There were all kinds of different issues raised. People were concerned about parking and mobility issues.”
Donald Schmitt, principal architect behind the renovations, says other challenges have arisen, including ensuring there are safe pathways for emergency exits.
Entrance and exit ways will change depending on the construction stage, but attendees will be notified in advance.
Schmitt says the continued operation of the NAC during construction makes for a lengthy planning process, but it is important for the performance centre to keep its doors open.
“We recongize the NAC is one of those essential services that had to remain open,” says Schmitt, “so we worked with them.”
Renovations are scheduled to be completed in 2017.