FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Who owns the W.D. Packard Music Hall ?

The City of Warren Ohio is the owner and property manager of the WD Packard Music Hall and the city currently employs four full time professional staff to manage and operate the 48,000 square foot facility. The Packard Park Board of Trustees have general oversight of the Packard Park (est. 1915), the Packard Music Hall (est. 1955), and the WD Packard Concert Band (est. 1955) to ensure that the city if meeting its basic legal responsibilities regarding the public assets and properties donated to Warren by Mr. William D. Packard.  As “trust” properties, the city is entrusted with keeping the Music Hall and the Packard Park properties open and in good condition and readily available for the general public’s enjoyment. The WD Packard Concert Band performs a wide variety of music through free monthly concerts and dances throughout the year and is supported by, and the sole recipient of, the Packard Trust Fund.

What is the Packard Music Hall ?

The Music Hall is a multi-purpose auditorium and theatre with a proscenium style stage featuring a counterweight rigging system and sound and lighting systems. The Music Hall is a public asset and represents a quality of life benefit to the public. The venue has 2,200 seats for staged events and seats up to 500 for catered functions. In addition, the auditorium floor area can be used for meetings, small trade or craft shows, sporting events such as wrestling, boxing, and mixed martial arts fights, and other special activities.

What is the purpose of the Packard Music Hall ?

The purpose of the Music Hall is to provide a public assembly facility for people to gather for a variety of uses and events. The Music Hall supports the arts, civic activities, and entertainment for the greater Warren area. The venue is commonly used for Broadway shows, concerts, lectures, dances, banquets & wedding receptions, children’s programming, theatre, graduations, sporting events, trade shows, dance recitals, church services, fundraisers, dance competitions, meetings, rehearsals, political rallies, blood drives, law enforcement training, and many other community and social functions. The facility is also the home of the resident musical organization, the WD Packard Concert Band, which performs over twenty free professional concerts and dances a year. The Hall is also the home of several principal affiliates which bring programs into the facility including: the Trumbull Town Hall Celebrity Series, the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra, the Warren Civic Music Association, and the Packard Music Hall Foundation.

Does the Music Hall present or produce shows?

No, the City of Warren has always restricted the Music Hall to a rental only “hosting” operation providing the facilities and various support services to individuals, promoters, and organizations using the venue. The city does not provide programming funds to allow the purchase or promotion of shows to the community or to act as an event producer.

What are some of the benefits provided by the Packard Music Hall ?

The Music Hall benefits the region in many ways, including creating a positive economic, social, and cultural impact whose payback far exceeds the financial outlay and subsidy required by the facility. Hall facilities support many civic, arts, and cultural activities and annual operations sustain full and part time jobs and benefit many local businesses and vendors that interact with the facility, including: caterers, florists, printers, lighting & sound companies, decorators, actors & guest artists, musicians, stagehands, security & police, promoters, advertisers/media, and the many sponsoring organizations that use the facility. The Music Hall creates a positive funds flow through direct local spending of its annual budget with firms and vendors that provide supplies and services to the Hall and through wages paid out to staff. Events and activities also draw people into Warren and Trumbull County who, in turn, spend money at local hotels, restaurants, pubs, and shops.  Very conservative estimates show the Music Hall creating an economic impact of over $2.6 million dollars annually and this estimate does not take into account the direct and indirect economic benefits to local hotels, restaurants, museums, golf courses, tourism attractions, shopping activities, or other businesses that see a benefit from additional commerce. It is estimated that between 110,000-130,000 people come to the Music Hall in any given year. 

Does the Music Hall make a financial profit?

No, the Music Hall does not generate enough in rental fees to be self-supporting and, as a city department and municipal property, is directly funded by the City of Warren . Unlike most city divisions, which are monopolies, the Music Hall is expected to earn as much in rental fees as possible to help defer a portion of its annual operating cost; however, because the Hall is restricted from fully competing directly in the marketplace, it is accepted that as a civic auditorium, that the combined economic, social, and cultural profit far and away exceeds any operational cost associated with the Hall. As a publicly supported civic venue, rental rates are purposely kept at an affordable level to allow maximum use by local organizations and the community.

Is operating at a financial loss typical?

The Music Hall has operated at a loss every year since opening its doors in 1955, even while being touted nationally as one of the finest new auditoriums in the country as it opened and during the “golden years” from 1958-1978 with the Kenley Players. This is, in fact, quite typical throughout the industry. Most public assembly facilities are owned and operated by local, county, and state governments and are publicly funded and subsidized. Communities support their public assembly facilities in various ways such as using a “sin tax”, a “bed tax”, a “sales tax”, a “parks and recreation tax”, or supporting the venue through the general fund as is the case with the Hall. Facilities such as the Music Hall are seen to provide a public benefit much like a community’s parks, libraries, golf courses, bike & hiking trails, museums, and school systems.

What are the Box Office hours and where is it located?

The box office windows are located at the front of the building just inside the front entrance in the foyer area. Due to limited staffing, the box office is open for ticket sales one hour prior to the event start time during “doors”; Advanced ticket sales are available 24/7 via the internet by visiting the web site’s on-line box office; Phone sales may be arranged by calling 330-841-2931 during the week and using voice mail to request a return call if no staff is available; walk up window sales can be made by phone appointment.