The chair of the New Westminster school board, James Janzen, says it would be possible to replace New Westminster secondary school without demolishing the nearby Massey Theatre.

The school board owns the 1,260-seat venue.

A recent consultant's report suggested it would cost $18.2 million to upgrade the 60-year old facility, which is used by professional and community groups. It's  home to the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra  and the Royal City Youth Ballet.

The release of the consultant's report late last month  prompted Jessica Scheider, executive director of the Massey Theatre Society, to question whether or not the school board wants to demolish the theatre.

In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Janzen said there is sufficient room for a new school, the theatre, and a running track on the large  block bounded by 8th and 10th avenues, and 6th and 8th streets. The city owns the nearby sports field at Mercer Stadium.

"We could swap land--other land--that the city owns," Janzen said. "We're talking to them. We've partnered on that site for a long, long time."

He noted that if the new high school was built on the Mercer Stadium site, the track would be taken out of service for a while.  Janzen said it  would be possible to  replace it  on another location within the same large site.

Coun. Lorrie Williams, who chairs the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra, told the Straight on October 2 that she will try to seek a solution for the Massey Theatre.

However, both Williams and Coun. Bill Harper have expressed concerns about the potential cost of upgrading the Massey Theatre. Mayor Wayne Wright did not return a call from the Straight.

Janzen said that in 1949, New Westminster secondary school was built on top of unmarked graves of early residents of the city, including many Chinese pioneers.

"It has certainly constrained where we can build on the site,"  he said. "Just in very general terms, probably half of what we own on the site we won't be able to use."

Meanwhile, a well-known New Westminster dancer and educator has come to the defence of the cultural icon.

Dolores Kirkwood, founder of the Kirkwood Academy of Performing Arts and the only dancer awarded the Order of British Columbia, told the Straight by phone that she thinks it's essential to save the Massey Theatre.

She pointed out that there are no other theatres of its size in the region outside of downtown Vancouver.  

"I feel sure that if it was a sports venue, they would never tear it down," Kirkwood said. "Over the years, the arts and sports have gone hand-in-hand in this city, and they've got to keep doing that."

The city is planning to build a 300-to-400-seat theatre as part of a civic complex downtown. Kirkwood said that this can't compare with the Massey Theatre—which she claimed is still a well-functioning venue.

She noted that a traditional theatre, such as the Massey, has a proscenium and has sufficient space to hang sets and provide proper lighting. She said that a smaller theatre won't offer nearly as much to the performers or the audiences.

"When I was involved with the Royal City Musical Theatre, 20,000 people came out to see those performances," she said. "Those kind of productions can't be held anywhere but in a theatre."

Kirkwood, who was New Westminster's citizen  of the year in 1994,  said she has many fond memories  of the Massey, including one time when the footlights in the theatre were turned in the wrong direction.

"They put the footlights out into the audience, which blinded the first 15 rows, I think," Kirkwood said with a laugh.