Unlike their Gen-X children, Bruce and Linda Grider are not necessarily Jerry Seinfeld fans.
But the Oswego couple absolutely love the Paramount Theatre in Aurora. Which is why they not only purchased the pricey tickets to the legendary comedian’s show at the theater in January, they went in with another couple for a sponsorship of this performance that’s the focus of a fundraising gala for the Paramount.
This Seinfeld event is a big deal.
For one thing, booking marquee performers always requires “more finesse,” says Paramount President Tim Rater, who lists availability, marketing, cost and competition among the factors that must be considered.
“It takes a long time to do,” he tells me, adding that “for every one (act) you get there are 25 you don’t get.”
The Griders, as well as many Paramount supporters, also get why this gala is significant.
The city, citing a large budget deficit, not only dramatically slashed funding to the Aurora Civic Center Authority, which oversees the Paramount, Stolp Island and Copley theaters, RiverEdge Park and the Paramount School of the Arts, the proposed city budget for 2026 recently presented to the Aurora City Council has none of the previously-discussed Paramount funding.
All of which took its board and Rater by surprise.
That’s because this administration had been indicating the Paramount would receive $2.5 million, which was far less than what was requested and led to Paramount layoffs and the closing of its BOLD Series at Copley Theatre.
But at least it gave the Aurora Civic Center Authority a dollar amount to work with. And according to Rater, the board did indeed work hard, downsizing its request from $5.6 million to $3.3 million and “hoping that would be acceptable.”
To find out they got zip, nada, zilch, a big goose egg of the previously-discussed Paramount funding in the proposed city budget had to have been a gut punch. And the hits keep coming.
Last weekend the city announced it would be replacing five longtime Aurora Civic Center Authority board members, who learned about it through a Facebook post.
Although he claims otherwise, Aurora Mayor John Laesch does not see the Paramount through the lens of many Aurora residents: that it has without question given Aurora its good name back after years of gang and street violence nearly ruined it. And to make it more difficult for the Aurora Civic Center Authority to keep this momentum going is, in polite terms, shortsighted and potentially disastrous.
“Balancing the budget is not hard. Determining what programming to eliminate in order to maintain the Paramount brand is what is difficult,” insists Aurora Civic Center Authority Board President Jonathan Hylton. “We have done our best to work within the parameters this administration has given us. But those parameters continue to be changing.”
When you have a “moving target,” he added, “it makes it hard to determine our path forward.”
“Do the math,” Laesch has said in response to pushback, referring to the general fund shortfall in the city budget that came as a surprise to aldermen and that’s already led to staff layoffs, with more to come that likely will also impact the police and fire departments.
Paramount folks point to numbers as well – including its 630,000 patrons in 2024 alone, 83% of whom came from outside the city and spent about $23 million at businesses here. Those statistics, of course, don’t convey the renewed pride Aurorans now feel for their hometown and its destination identity, or the benefits that come from cultural access and arts education.
Laesch insists budget cuts have nothing to do with his attitude toward the arts or the Paramount specifically. The Aurora Civic Center Authority relied too heavily on the city and COVID-19 relief funding, and the only way forward is to make its operations more sustainable, he has said.
Which is what the Aurora Civic Center Authority had in mind with the proposed City of Lights Center, a 4,000-seat venue that was to complete downtown’s three-part plan for performance arts. Unfortunately for Paramount supporters, the writing was on the wall when Laesch, just days after beating his nemesis and then-Mayor Richard Irvin in April’s election, declared that proposal pretty much “dead in the water.”
Their political differences were stark but few issues separated the two candidates more than the Paramount. Irvin saw its success directly tied to downtown Aurora’s ascension, and that continuing to invest in that success, especially when other theaters were struggling after COVID, would pay off. Laesch, on the other hand, could see downtown as a house of cards in danger of collapsing without the over-generous support of the city.
While Laesch and his administration continue to make life challenging for the Paramount, the aldermen could be the safety net it needs – or in more theatrical terms, its fairy godmother.
The mayor’s job is to present the budget. But it is up to 12 City Council members to vote on it. And many are resolved to continue looking for Paramount dollars. That includes Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, who’s questioned whether the mayor should step down after what some felt was a socialist-leaning email to the Aurora Police Department’s top brass was leaked.
And this weekend, in a letter to the editor, citing a “troubling” level of partisan politics that “rarely foster productivity or efficiency,” Franco is calling for a referendum that would give voters a chance to chose between Aurora’s current “strong mayor” form of government and one that would involve a city manager overseeing the city’s operations on a day-to-day basis.
Whether such a change would impact the future of the Paramount – including the City of Lights Center that the Aurora Civic Center Authority continues to insist would help bring that needed sustainability – is unclear.
The good news in all of this is that the Paramount, which has hit plenty of home runs with its productions over the years, seems to have scored big again with Seinfeld. Even with tickets for the performance going as high as $400, the show has all but sold out, and there are just a few tickets remaining for a $800 gala reception.
As is usually the case, of the 1,800 tickets, about 84% were purchased by people from outside Aurora, says Rater. Also among those who purchased tickets are 11 Aurora City Council members and the mayor.
For the Griders, who are among many fans concerned about losing the momentum the Paramount and Aurora have enjoyed, there is much at stake.
“A year ago people were talking about what to do for the Paramount centennial celebration” in six years, says Linda Grider. “All of a sudden there is a different feel. I hate to lose what has been built.”
Paramount leaders, though worried and frustrated, are not without hope. Rater believes “there will be a world where we can celebrate our 100th anniversary with downtown Aurora recognized as an example of how a community can be revitalized.”
Hylton shares that faith in the Paramount’s mission and what can be accomplished.
“With Tim at the helm,” he tells me, “we can find the best solutions to continue with our mission to make the arts inclusive and make sure there is something there for our community to be proud of.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
