A major makeover for the Crown Club includes new lighting fixtures, furnishings, carpeting and bar.
project was the largest in the center’s history.
The Crown Club came on the heels of additional
upgrades that featured a complete lobby and
bar renovation, an expanded main entrance, art
installations and a cutting-edge HVAC system.
As performing venues go, the center is among
the perfect ones for ASM Global, which manages
theaters ranging in size from 500 to 5,000 seats.
“With 2,016 seats, it’s in the middle of the sweet
spot,” said Bob Papke, general manager of the King
Center and ASM’s vice president of theaters.
Papke, who lives in Brevard, also oversees
operations of theaters as far away as Sydney,
Australia, and Manchester, England.
In addition to performing arts centers, ASM Global
operates stadiums, arenas, convention centers,
amphitheaters, sports stadiums, equestrian centers
and even a NASCAR racetrack.
SLOW RECOVERY
As the pandemic waned, the center tentatively
reopened with strict safety protocols that included
a 25 percent capacity and shows with only one or
a couple of performers onstage. It slowly upped
capacity to 50 percent and then 100 percent, but
audiences didn’t initially rush to buy tickets.
“Ticket sales were all over the place, depending on
the shows,” Papke said.
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A complete lobb >> y renovation expanded the main entrance and bar and added new art.
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