Het Podium hopes to be able to welcome 350 to 375 concertgoers with the renovation. According to Rebers, that is often the minimum number for which certain artists want to play. “But ultimately we also want to receive as much audience as possible. The costs for programming have also risen. With more visitors we can cover that better.”
The money is only intended for the expansion of the room capacity, but the board still wants to make more adjustments. “For example, the changing rooms and a number of safety aspects. We also hope that other cultural parties can also use our spaces.”
The Regional Cities Fund alone does not reimburse those costs. “The Podium must then find cover for the remainder,” adds alderman Mark Tuit. There are also national funds that can be used if necessary. “They can also appeal to the municipality. The council will then have to decide whether to grant extra money.”
A few years ago, Hoogeveen was still researching the arrival of a cultural complex. The intention was that De Tamboer, the library and Het Podium would come under one roof. In 2020, that research was stopped due to a lack of money.
The idea of renovating De Tamboer and housing all cultural institutions there would cost 29 million euros, of which 15 million euros would be for construction costs. And that while Hoogeveen had to cut back considerably to get its finances back in order.
The then alderman Janita Tabak said the following about this at the time: “It is not realistic to think that we can realize a new cultural complex under these circumstances. Our priority is to keep the current cultural functions intact.”
What will happen to De Tamboer and the library now remains to be seen. Rebers says that the foundation is in talks with the municipality about De Tamboer, which, like Het Podium, falls under the Cultuurhuis Foundation. “Phase one is Het Podium, in phase two we look at De Tamboer. It is still difficult to say what will happen to the building on Hoofdstraat. There are plans, but it is mainly about concepts. We will be developing those in the near future. further develop.”
The library will be examined at a later date. “The library still has an agreement for the location along Willemskade. That contract will run until 2028,” says alderman Tuit.