NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WBEN).....The same team that operates the Rec Room in Buffalo's Chippewa District have been selected to take over the iconic but vacant Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls.
Selected was the business tandem of Chris Ring and Dan Segal, the owners of the Rec Room in Buffalo.
Ring, who is also Chippewa Alliance president, runs After Dark - a regional concert promoter.
Ring and Segal plan on using the venerable, 105-year-old Main Street theater as both a concert and special events venue.
The deal is a major boost of Mayor Robert Restaino's vision of reviving a key stretch of Main Street in Niagara Falls.
It comes as a development team led by Buffalo lawyer and preservation specialist Jason Yots are working on renovating the vacant Jenss Department Store building - just across Main Street from the Rapids Theatre - into an apartment-anchored building.
"To secure operators for two anchor buildings on Main Street in such a short time is a tremendous boost in revitalizing one of the most visible business districts in our city," Restaino said in a prepared statement.
Niagara Falls issued an RFP for theater operators and from that process Ring and Segal were selected.
Niagara Falls, two years ago, acquired 38 properties - mostly on Main Street - from Blue Cardinal Properties with the intent of landing new developments.
"It's good to know, with the Jenss building just across the street, we aren't the first developers going into Main Street," Ring said. 'Together, we can hopefully create a critical mass for Niagara Falls."
Ring and Segal will be investing more than $1.5 million to renovate the Rapids Theatre, with much of the work focusing on repairing various sections of the building - starting with the roof.
The pair will be looking for some public sector assistance - in the form of grants and tax breaks - to help finance the Rapids renovations.
"This will be a 100% public-private partnership," Ring said.
Ring said the renovation work may take them into November or December for a soft opening.
The Rapids, located at 1711 Main St., first opened in 1921 as the Bellvue Theater. By the late 1980s, it had morphed from a movie theater and special events venue into a concert hall. Such artists as Eric Church, Stone Temple Pilots and the Dropkick Murphys played there.
The theater can seat up to 800 people and hold 1,700 for standing room concerts.
Given the high profile of the Rapids, Ring said he knows he and Segal will be operating under a powerful microscope.
"We know our reputations are on the line," Ring said.
Ring and Segal will continue to run the Rec Room and Ring will continue to book concerts through his After Dark Entertainment affiliate.
"This is what we do," Ring said.
Buffalo team selected to run Rapids Theatre
Buffalo team selected to run Rapids Theatre
