RBTL at Midtown? It's a possibility.

In a phone interview this afternoon, Mayor Bob Duffy said that if it's not economically feasible to renovate the Auditorium Theater, he'd like RBTL to consider Midtown as a possible new home, specifically, the former McCurdy's site.

RBTL was going to be the primary tenant of Ren Square's theater. Since Ren Square's collapse, RBTL officials have been looking to the suburbs for a new site. Duffy has been pushing for RBTL to stay downtown and to renovate the Aud to meet the group's needs.

The city is paying for a study to determine the cost of renovating the Aud. Those numbers should be ready by the end of the month, Duffy says. If renovations are cost-prohibitive, Duffy says he'd like RBTL to consider Midtown as an alternative.

In an interview earlier today, before this news broke, RBTL board chair Arnie Rothschild said that the site selection committee plans to move to the next step in early December. It wants any proposals from the city by the end of this month.

The McCurdy's site was one of the first sites that Rothschild floated, back in 1994, as a potential location for a new theater, he said.

"All of us have believed that downtown was the perfect site," Rothschild said.

RBTL officials have a laundry list of issues with the Auditorium Theatre - everything from cramped dressing rooms to lack of lobby space. During one production, half of the pit band performed from the basement. RBTL wants a new, 3,000-seat theater to address those issues, and to address capacity. By having more seats, they say, they have a better shot at landing large productions sooner.

The organization's theater site selection committee has been listening to proposals by various developers and communities. The proposals generally call for a new theater that would be built next to amenities and expressways, on shovel-ready sites with ample parking.

Developers have been saying that a new theater will cost somewhere in the $40 million to $50 million range.  There are a number of potential ways for the organization to raise the money, Rothschild says. They include naming rights and the sale of tax credits.

"I would tell you that there is significant developer participation in each of the projects," Rothschild said.

But he also says that the fact that they're looking in the suburbs is not a "stalking horse" for a city site.

RBTL would want to operate the new performing arts center as well as the Aud, the latter of which could be used for smaller acts and events. Rothschild says the Aud would make "a perfect 1,500-seat theater."