Brian Cooper has what seems like an obvious suggestion when it comes to fixing the C_lvin Theater’s marquee: Use money collected through the $2 “Historic Preservation Fund” fee attached to every Calvin ticket sold to buy a new one.
The letter “A” has been missing from the iconic downtown Northampton theater since July of 2015, according to the Facebook page, Is the A Back in Calvin? And its absences has been a cause of consternation in the community. Memes featuring the marquee show various things filling the sign’s A-hole: The Fonz, an asterisk, the city’s mayor doing the YMC “A.” There’s also been a string of letters in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, including the one by Cooper, imploring/taunting theater owner Eric Suher to fix the sign.
Suher didn’t return phone calls seeking comment and the spokesman for Iron Horse Entertainment Group, Suher’s local music dynasty that includes the Calvin, Pearl Street Nightclub, Mountain Park, and the Iron Horse, referred all questions to Suher. During a Northampton City Council meeting in April, Suher said he planned on fixing the sign soon, but did not want to commit to a timeline.
The fee is just one among a long history of people selling tickets tacking on whatever fees they like for whatever reasons they like. Sometimes fees are added to tickets for things that make sense such as for parking, or services. And other times they’re ludicrous — think Ticketmaster’s $10 “convenience” fee. For the Calvin, the Historic Preservation Fund charge has nothing to do with the federal Historic Preservation Fund, or the local Historical Commission or Community Preservation Committee, members of these organizations said.
This got staff at the Advocate talking about fees charged by other local concert venues, some of which use online purveyors Ticketmaster and Ticketfly to sell show admissions. Below is a chart of the fees charged at area venues for concerts coming up in the next two weeks.•
