Originally published in Savannah Now
A year after the newly renovated Mars Theatre opened, Springfield is one of seven cities getting statewide attention for using the arts to revitalize downtown.
Springfield was featured in a report by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Georgia Council for the Arts, along with Athens, Blue Ridge, Clarkston, Duluth, Hapeville and Thomasville.
The report was released during the GMA’s recent convention in Savannah. About 100 municipal leaders from all over the state rode a bus from the convention to Springfield on Saturday, June 27, to eat low country boil and hear country, bluegrass and Americana singer Jim Lauderdale at the Mars.
The visitors included mayors, city council members and directors of Main Street programs, most of whom had never visited Springfield or the Mars before.
“They loved the theater, complimented how nice the seats are and the quality of the sound system,” said Tommy Deadwyler, Springfield’s director of cultural affairs.
Most of the 3,500 copies of the case studies, each 32 pages long, were distributed at the convention.
The report was titled “Leveraging Public Investment in the Arts: The role of arts-based economic development strategies in Georgia communities.”
Deadwyler said the city will be able to use the report to publicize its efforts and to gain ideas from cities that have been using the arts for economic development much longer than Springfield has.
He said the Mars already is filling a regional need. Seventy percent of the live-show tickets are purchased by Savannah residents.
“People from Savannah say there’s nothing like it in Savannah,” Deadwyler said. “The Lucas is so big and the sound is not as good.”
He said purchasing a premium sound system was worth it. “If we don’t have something really special, why would people drive to Springfield to experience it?” he asked. “And why would they come back?”
Several movies have sold out at the Mars during its first year, including SpongeBob, Cinderella and Jurassic World.
City council members went into the project expecting to lose money at first. The budget for the 2015 calendar year called for the theater to pay for itself except for $35,600 that would come from general operating funds.
Deadwyler said the Mars is performing better than that. “At this point, we’re well ahead of budget projections,” he said.
And the Mars already is stimulating growth downtown.
A coffee shop that opened about the same time as the Mars, Daisy’s, has new owners and has been renamed the Salzburger Haus restaurant and café. It is expanding its hours and menus.
And a new antique-gift store opened next to it.
Now, when a business closes, a new owner is much more likely to come along.
The motorcycle shop closed but a cabinet store is opening in its place.
Deadwyler said the former hardware store will soon house Horton’s meats and a new music store and art studio.
And existing businesses are enjoying the crowds the theater brings. Kevin Rahn, who bought Springfield’s Gaffney’s Cheap Seats three years ago with his wife Julie, said business is up 50 percent on nights when there’s a concert or movie at the Mars.
“It’s picking up like crazy,” he said.
The 75-seat restaurant and sports bar serves beer, wine and liquor and a varied menu that includes hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks and seafood. It has live bands, karaoke nights and ladies’ nights.
Rahn said the restaurant has 15 full-time workers.
The city recently purchased the former Walt’s furniture store, which Deadwyler said might be a good place for a restaurant and incubator space for artists, perhaps students from SCAD who can’t afford rent in downtown Savannah.
The goal would be to create an arts destination, to fill the city’s newly streetscaped sidewalks with shoppers.
Millennials want to live where they can ride their bikes to shopping and entertainment, he said.
“In 20 years, like some of these other places, you’ll see a big difference in Springfield,” Deadwyler said.
Originally published on July 7, 2015.
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