Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | Jacobs Theater at Fort Eustis, Va., will lose approximately 200 seats when it is...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – Jacobs Theater, located at Fort Eustis, is closing its doors for renovations starting Jan. 26.
The Enterprise Multimedia Center at Fort Eustis will work with the 733rd Civil Engineer Division to upgrade the facility with new safety systems, conference-style seating and state-of-the-art equipment to transform the theater into a world-class facility, said Michael Maxey, EMC manager.
“We don’t have a conference venue with a horseshoe-like layout on the installation that can hold several-hundred people,” said Maxey. “With all the renovations we have planned, we’ll be able to host conferences, performances, observance ceremonies, retirements and just about any other type of event imaginable at Jacobs Theater.”
Currently, the theater-style seating can accommodate between 700 and 900 people. With the new plans, the front half of the slanted floor will be leveled, allowing for a traditional, horseshoe-shaped seating arrangement for conferences. The back half of the floor will remain elevated with approximately 400 seats.
“We expect to lose between 200 and 300 seats because of the new layout,” said Maxey. “But with the new layout options, we can accommodate more events so leaders won’t have to go off base to find an appropriate venue.”
The 733rd CED will begin the renovations by upgrading the fire alarm system and sprinklers. Once safety upgrades are complete, the EMC will spend approximately two million dollars to level the floor and upgrade the audio/visual equipment and lighting. The new equipment will include a 15-by-26-foot LED screen, new 80-inch televisions and a 12-foot projector screen for the back half of the room.
“If we level out the slanted floor in the front half, we turn it into a multi-use facility,” said Maxey. “We can utilize the theater-style seating in the back with the projector and smaller screens for unit briefings or ceremonies, or use the LED screen in the front with any seating layout we need for larger groups.”
Maxey hopes this renovation will allow for more conferences and events to be hosted by organizations from outside the installation, allowing more funds to come through Fort Eustis to support the installation and the local community, based on installation’s premiere location on the East Coast.
“People coming from the North and South can meet in the middle at Fort Eustis for major conferences,” said Maxey. “This brings more people to use the facility so they’re spending more money at the General Smalls Inn, the Post Exchange and Shoppette, and even in the local area surround the base which helps reinvigorate the economy of the area.”
While Jacobs Theater is closed, other locations will still be available for events on the installation, such as the Fort Eustis Club, Wylie Theater or the Lakeside Grille. Once the theater has reopened, projected for December 2015, reservations can be made using the EMC’s online work order system, the Visual Information Ordering Site, at www.vios.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 01.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.21.2015 11:26 |
| Story ID: | 152371 |
| Location: | FORT EUSTIS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Jacobs Theater closes for ‘world-class facility’ renovation, Jan. 26, by MSgt Teresa Gallagher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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