CHARDON, Ohio — After nearly 30 years of ownership, the city of Chardon is looking for a new owner for Geauga Theater.
The city took over the Geauga Theater in 1998 after Guardians owner Larry Dolan sold it to them for a dollar.
Over the last nine years, data provided in a Request for Proposals shows the city has lost more than $400,000 on the property in expenses.
"The theater is not a core government service – it's not what the city does everyday," Chardon City Manager Ben Young said. "We don't have the experts on staff, which is why we've always had a management agreement. We're hoping to find a great partner that can really run a theater better than a city can."
Before 2023, Young told News 5 that the city did not collect a share of the profits on ticket sales, with the operator keeping the revenue and the city paying for utilities.
Any sale will require the buyer to keep the 290-seat theater as a performing arts hub for the area.
"It's not fair to ask the entire community to subsidize what is essentially a private business," Young said. "We charge tickets, it's not open to the public, you can't just walk in. We want to find a good partner who will continue the tradition of performing arts here."
Young told News 5 he hopes the new owner could add other events to the space, such as live bands. He also added that Chardon just enacted a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), which will enable guests to grab a beer and bring it with them to watch a show at the Geauga Theater.
Angela Miloro-Hansen, who leads theater company Curtain 440, said the nearly 90-year-old theater has been a part of her life since childhood.
"I've been with this building since I was 11 years old," Miloro-Hansen said. "I started as a kid in summer workshops, I had my first job here, I met my husband here."
Miloro-Hansen, whose theater company has used the space for several years, plans to put in a bid.
"I know this building inside and out and I love it," Miloro-Hansen said. "That's a really important part: somebody who wants to preserve it and keep it as it is but with some upgrades."
The city hopes to sell the property for at least the market value determined by the county auditor, which has it listed as $262,500.
The city is accepting proposals until Aug. 28 and hopes to transfer the Geauga Theater to its new owner by the end of the year. To learn more, click here.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
