Frequent question for me - what does a
theatre cost. At the (very) low end, I designed a project for a state
park in Mississippi. Almost 600 seats, good sized
stage but
dead hung soft goods, some tracks for scenery, and catwalks over the
stage for lighting. Very functional place and on the rare occasions I meet someone that has seen or used it, it gets good reviews - for function. It is based around a butler building, and luckily was covered in kudzu within a few years. $2.1m when built, I estimate $3.4m today. (Total project cost - construction, equipment, fees - except land.) The
theatre systems and equipment - lighting, rigging sound, and seats - about half the cost.
Using that as a model did one few years later for a private school in Jackson MS - 465 seats - custom structure versus pre-engineered building - $3.1m then, $5m today.
These are both low, but the private school loves theirs and I have heard good things from the few outsiders that have used it. I didn't cave into emaciated systems on either of these. IIRC both are two rack systems with over 100 focusing units and good sound systems, pleasant seats, high quality
curtains and tracks, good
stage floors,
etc. Adding a rigged
stage,
manual counterweight, to either of these would probably add $1 to 1.5m today.
To
build a workable, functional
theatre, with equipment and systems that wouldn't make us all here - at CB - run away, on a very slim budget like the above, requires starting from scratch with that in mind. It takes a building
system like pre-engineered or precast concrete, and every choice optimized to work within the natural constraints of those
system choices. No room for whimsy or digging in heels.
Now, if I had the choice, I'd say your project is $15-18m, and have some fun. Naw, let's ask for $20m.