GRIMSBY Auditorium is to be transferred to Lincs Inspire in a bid to save £200,000 a year for three years.
Councillors agreed to go ahead with the transfer at yesterday's special cabinet meeting.
In the move, Lincs Inspire Ltd, a social enterprise which currently runs the council's leisure facilities, will work with the current operator to take over the facility within this financial year.
But the takeover came with a word of warning from council leader Chris Shaw, who said: "We want to do everything we can to keep the Auditorium open to the public, but as a council we have limited financial resources and these must always be directed at our priority services."
The Auditorium, built in 1995, is the area's largest professional indoor theatre, catering for concerts, social events and television broadcasts. The venue hosts around 150 events and attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year, with an estimated contribution of nearly £3 million to the local economy.
Councillor Mick Burnett, chairman of Lincs Inspire, said: "We welcome this move, and look forward to the challenge of keeping a great venue here in Grimsby and bringing first class acts and shows to the area. I'd like to thank the current operators, ATG, for their excellent work in running the Auditorium since they took it on in 2001."
Councillor Shaw added: "We've considered a number of short and long-term options for the Auditorium, and we believe this is the best way forward. We'll work with Lincs Inspire to make the transfer as seamless as possible."
