Student and administrative groups have had difficulties booking facilities, including Leverone Field House and Leede Arena, the College's largest open indoor spaces, as well as Spaulding Auditorium. Groups like Programming Board and the Admissions Office struggle to procure these spaces because sports teams use them year-round and the Hopkins Center operates independently from the College, Programming Board director Alex Martin '13 said.
The past few years have seen a marked increase in requests to use Leverone and Leede, said Dana Metes, assistant athletic department director for facilities scheduling and event planning. These athletic facilities, however, do not have the logistical capabilities necessary to support concerts and other large events.
"Because our spaces are primarily designed for athletic events, they do not have systems and acoustical properties that create the best concert or large event experiences," she said.
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Maria Laskaris previously cited acoustics, sound amplification and crowd control as logistical issues that contributed to Admissions' decision to relocate the Dimensions show from Leede Arena. Since the Admissions Office could not find another suitable venue, the show will likely be held in the five freshman residential clusters.
The Admissions Office explored possible venue options outside of Leede, but Spaulding Auditorium, the largest space, was already reserved for a visiting performance group during Dimensions weekend, Hopkins Center publicity coordinator Rebecca Bailey said.
Despite the purported acoustic issues, Programming Board hires outside production agencies to assist with logistical issues such as lighting, sound and staging, Martin said. Programming Board primarily uses three production agencies, including Hanover Strings.
"We have to spend thousands of dollars on production agencies around Hanover to help us out, because Dartmouth doesn't do that for us," Martin said. "The lighting, the sound, the stage everything that needs to be done is done by the production company."
Although the costs of hiring a production company and artist constitute the bulk of Programming Board's concert expenditures, Martin said the greatest challenge lies in booking an appropriate venue.
All groups, including Programming Board and the Admissions Office, have difficulty scheduling events on campus due to limited available spaces and conflicts with previously scheduled events, executive director of conferences and events E.J. Kiefer said.
Despite Leverone's poor acoustics, the venue has played host to numerous concerts because it has the greatest capacity. Leede arena is the next largest venue, but athletic events may be scheduled up to a year in advance, leaving little room for flexibility, Kiefer said.
"This problem applies to any of the auditoriums in the Hopkins Center," he said. "Some of those schedules for Spaulding and other locations may be set two years in advance, so space is really limited."
For Programming Board, the three most difficult venues to reserve are Leverone, Leede and Spaulding, whereas Alumni Hall, Sarner Underground, Collis Common Ground and One Wheelock generally have more openings, Martin said.
Martin said the Programming Board considers venue availability before choosing an artist when planning events.
"We don't say, We want this person,'" he said. "We say, We have this spot, so let's find a person to match that spot.'"
Security also adds to the complexity of booking event spaces. Depending on the venue, the Hanover Fire Department, Police Department and the town of Hanover must approve Programming Board's plans, Martin said. Modifications to floor plans must be submitted to the Hanover Town Hall for approval. For safety purposes, the town, fire department and police department evaluate venue capacity.
Leverone and Leede are subject to town governance, Metes said.
"We are limited by fire code and other town regulations in terms of what activities can be conducted inside the facilities and the number of people we can allow," she said.
Safety inspections frequently lead to changes in event logistics, Martin said.
Programming Board also hires Safety and Security and Green Mountain Security to staff events.
Fraternities commonly host concerts that are open to the campus, but they do not need to compete for College facilities. Every spring, Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity hosts Gammapalooza, a concert and dance party. In the past, crowds have filled up Chi Gam's main room, resulting in crowd overflow onto the front lawn and road, potentially blocking traffic, president Nick Allen '14 said.
Allen said fraternities may be more successful in hosting concerts than Programming Board because they provide an informal environment.
"People would much rather go to a frat to see a concert than Alumni Hall or Leede or the Gold Coast lawn," he said.
Chi Gam typically begins planning Gammapalooza six to eight months in advance, targeting popular artists within a reasonable price range, Allen said.
Programming Board began communicating with artists during fall term for a spring show, Martin said.
