Advance Redding, a nonprofit subsidiary of Bethel Church, will continue operating the Redding Civic Auditorium for another five years following an agreement made last night with the Redding City Council. The city-owned facility has been under the direction of Advance Redding since 2011, a time when the facility was in danger of closing because of financial issues.
Bethel Church approached the city with a proposal to lease the auditorium and hold other events there on the nights it wasn’t in use.
Director of Redding Community Services Kim Niemer says the church has well exceeded its expectations of 60 events per year and has actually booked more than 100 events.
"We actually have another year on the original lease period, and the Advance Redding management came to us and said we're already looking at booking events that extend into the next period," she said.
The council also agreed to reduce the rent on the facility from $25,000 to $20,000 a month, noting extensive improvements Advance Redding has made to the facility.