Bosses at the revamped Dome in Brighton are begging for an extra £500,000 of tax-payers' cash.
Brighton and Hove City Council, which has just announced an £18 million gap in its budget, will be asked to dig deep to make up for a substantial shortfall in the revamped arts centre's income.
Figures published today reveal the historic venue, which re-opened last year after a £22 million refit, is running into the red and needs a massive cash injection to break even over the next three years.
The money from the council is needed to secure more cash from the Arts Council to bring the Dome back from the brink of a financial crisis.
If it is not handed over, the Arts Council could ask for the return of a £500,000 lifeline grant made last year, the management team would probably pull out and the Dome be turned over for purely commercial use.
Managers have also asked for another three years to pay back a £1 million loan.
A report says the debt has arisen because assumptions in a business plan produced five years ago by the Brighton Festival Society, which runs the venue, were over optimistic.
A team of specialist advisers has been brought in to carry out a full review of the way the centre is run. Initial reports suggest the society has learnt some hard lessons from its first year due to inexperience.
Dome bosses want £187,000 this year, £200,000 next year and £172,000 in 2005.
That would virtually guarantee the hundreds of thousands of pounds also requested from the Arts Council.
Council experts and special advisers will work with Dome management to find ways of turning in a profit.
Finance councillor Simon Burgess said: "Assumptions in the original business plan were over optimistic but hindsight is a great thing. The venue has been massively successful but costs are higher than everyone assumed.
"Both the Dome and Festival are crucial generators of income for the city and have a key role to play in regenerating the city's cultural quarter. That is why the package is being recommended.
He added: "The city is getting tremendous value for money from the Dome and the council has contributed a very small fraction of the £30m plus it cost to restore and modernise this fantastic place."
Brighton Festival Society took over running the complex from the city council in 1999.
Festival chief executive Nick Dodds said the money was needed to ensure the Dome had a bright future as a world-class arts venue.
He said: "What we are talking about is a long-term plan in conjunction with the Arts Council. It has offered to put in extra money provided it is matched by the city council."
Tory opposition leader Brian Oxley said: "We recognise the need for major centres like the Dome to be funded but people's patience on funding, especially at a time of high tax rises, is likely to be limited."
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