Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center for the Arts Ranks #89 of Top 100 Theaters Worldwide

Santa Rosa, CA (January 23, 2012)—Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Sonoma County’s community arts center, today announced that it has been named among the top 100 theaters in the world and among the top 15 for theaters with 2,000 seats or less. The community owned and operated, non-profit arts center located in Santa Rosa received a world-wide ranking of #89 by Pollstar magazine. For theaters with fewer than 2,000 seats, the Center ranks #14 in the world. Pollstar is the only trade magazine covering the worldwide concert industry. Its rankings are based on tickets sold for performances from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. During this timeframe, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts sold 61,667 tickets, slightly less than the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia ranked at #88 and more than the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane, Australia ranked at #90.

Among California theaters, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts ranks #11 in the state, just below the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Southern California and above Fresno’s William Saroyan Theatre.

“We’re thrilled to be named, once again, among the top 100 theaters in the world,” says the Center’s Executive Director, Rick Nowlin. “It’s a testament to our programming, which features the world’s finest music of all genres, as well as dance, theater, comedy, family and renowned speaker events.”

“It’s also a point of pride for our Sonoma County community,” says Nowlin.  “As a non-profit, owned and operated by the Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, Well Fargo Center for the Arts has no municipal or university affiliation and relies directly on the community for its support. Ticket sales augmented by donations and sponsorships allow us to bring world-class performers to Sonoma County and provide education programs for 30,000 students a year from Sonoma, Marin, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties.”

Some of the many outstanding performances that occurred at the Santa Rosa arts center during 2011 include Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Lucinda Williams, Peter Frampton, Ron White, Shirley MacLaine, Vienna Boys Choir, MOMIX, Dana Carvey, and Tony Bennett.

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts is celebrating its 30^th anniversary season. Founded in 1981 by 12 community leaders, the non-profit Center first reported its ticket sales to Pollstar for ranking in 2002 and has been consistently named among the top 100 theaters in the world since 2005.

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Luther Burbank Center ranks in world’s top 100 theaters