There is a GoFundMe sponsored by Troy Proctor’s Foundation, which I once headed, to raise money — but for what?

They don’t own the theater?

They have no say in the current rehab of the building?

Look. No one more than me would want to see that theater restored to its former glory – but I also am a realist. Let’s look at the economics.

The proposal to restore a major historic theater in Troy as a full-scale performance center must be evaluated not on cultural sentiment, but on economic reality. While historic preservation can be a powerful catalyst for downtown revitalization, the Capital District’s current entertainment market is already densely populated with successful, well-established venues.

When Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), Schenectady Proctors Theatre, Troy Music Hall, MVP Arena, and other regional institutions are considered collectively, it becomes clear that restoring a Troy performance center of comparable ambition would not be financially sustainable in today’s economic climate and would likely undermine existing venues rather than expand the market.

The Capital District supports an unusually large number of performance venues for a region of its population size.

These venues already capture the overwhelming majority of regional entertainment spending. Proctors Collaborative attracts approximately 600,000 patrons annually, leveraging Broadway tours, concerts, films, and community programming. MVP Arena draws more than 600,000 attendees per year, anchoring the region’s largest-scale concerts and sporting events.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) welcomes between 350,000 and over 500,000 visitors annually, largely during its summer season, with individual events drawing tens of thousands. Troy Savings Bank Music Hall sustains roughly 50,000–70,000 attendees annually, an impressive figure for a mid-size historic hall. Finally, Capital Repertory Theatre maintains approximately 40,000........

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