FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Pollstar has named the Embassy Theatre to its Top 100 rankings. According to Pollstar’s 2021 Mid-Year Worldwide Top 100 Theatre Venues, the Embassy Theatre is ranked #6 in the world, based on 7,145 single tickets sold in the first half of 2021 (January 1 through June 30).
This ranking makes the Embassy the highest-ranking theater in the Midwest for that time period.
Pollstar is a trade publication that tracks tickets, artists, and sales in the concert industry for the US and worldwide events.
On Thursday, the Embassy released the following:
The ranking reflects the venue’s commitment to presenting arts and entertainment as the team adapted during a fairly brutal time when business was halted by the necessary limitations and cancellations of events due to the pandemic.
“This is a testament to the community’s ongoing support of and love for the Embassy,” said Kelly Updike, president and CEO. “It is an honor to share the recognition with other theaters around the world who tried to offer some normalcy and comfort to patrons during this unprecedented time.”
The Embassy has navigated the last 16 months by not dwelling on what couldn’t be done but by focusing on how it could still serve the community, take things virtual and offer a space to patrons and artists where COVID-19 protocols were prioritized and enforced. The latter could only be done by establishing best practice venue guidelines and standards and by having enough space to spread out and make it happen. During the pandemic, most venues have not had the luxury to adjust and were forced to close or “shutter” for a significant part of their season or year. The Embassy worked closely with health officials to reduce capacity and have event plans approved to serve patrons in creative and interesting ways throughout 2020 and 2021.“The Embassy Theatre has grit and tenacity to find solutions to unexpected challenges during normal business. We thought why should our philosophy be any different if we can adjust and adapt in meaningful ways?” said Updike.
The Embassy spent significant time last year strengthening partnerships with local organizations like Three Rivers Music Theatre, Summit City Music Theatre, Civic Theatre, Fort Wayne Youtheatre and Cinema Center, among others. Also, the nonprofit focused on contributing goodwill by donating the facility for use in local racial equity conversations. The
Embassy also prioritized communication with rental clients (national tours/partners as well as wedding and corporate rental patrons) so that options could be offered whenever possible or dates could be reserved for postponements. The plan was – as the pandemic receded – to easily hit the ground running without missing a beat. That philosophy has served the team well as the calendar fills and tours begin.
Pollstar rankings for other Indiana theaters include the Morris Performing Arts Center (South Bend) at #27 in Top 100 Theatre Venues with 2,509 tickets sold worldwide, Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis) at #19 of Top 25 Arenas and 13/24 Drive In (Wabash) at #48 in Top 50 Stadium Venues.
