PROVIDENCE – As expected, the R.I. State Properties Committee today approved the transfer of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium (VMA) to the R.I. Convention Center Authority, according to James P. McCarvill, RICCA’s executive director.

With just one more approval to go – one that McCarvill said he is certain will be granted – the panel’s action clears the way for the Convention Center Authority to begin operating the historic theater near the R.I. State House.

The first event under new management is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 4, when the state’s newest citizens are to be sworn in at the VMA, according to McCarvill. He said the RICCA board will meet this Thursday, July 31, to finalize the takeover, and Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) personnel should be installed at the theater on Friday, Aug. 1.

Operation of the VMA will be shared by the two facilities-management groups that already operate PPAC and the Convention Center: Professional Facility Management Inc. of Providence, which runs PPAC, will take over the marketing, bookings and box office at the VMA. Philadelphia-based SMG, which already manages the R.I. Convention Center and its garage for the RICCA, will handle the theater’s physical plant, mechanical operations and security. The two companies have proposed running the VMA for a total of $150,000 annually.

The final hurdle to be cleared is approval from the financing authority that holds the bonds used to renovate the VMA years ago, according to McCarvill. That authority meets tomorrow morning and “they’re going to approve it,” the RICCA chief said.

State Properties Committee approval also was needed because the state owns the VMA building and has been leasing it to the nonprofit Veterans Memorial Auditorium Foundation (VMAF) for $1 per year since 1992. That lease will now be taken over by the RICCA.

Last week, the panel delayed its vote on the proposal, citing last-minute questions from the adjacent Renaissance Providence Hotel. (READ MORE) The hotel owners wanted to make certain that giving their agreement to the change-over now would not prevent them from objecting to other possible aspects of the transition.

Officials connected with the planned changeover have said it is needed both to run the VMA more efficiently and to increase the theater’s use by booking more events.

The VMA’s primary tenants – the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and the Festival Ballet Providence – will continue to use the venue as a performance space, McCarvill has said. Meanwhile, the VMAF, the nonprofit formed to operate the building, may continue as a supportive and fundraising group, its leaders have said.

The R.I. Convention Center Authority, established by the R.I. General Assembly in 1987, manages and operates the R.I. Convention Center, the Dunkin’ Donuts Center-Providence and related facilities, including the Convention Center parking garage. To learn more, visit www.RIConvention.com.

The Veterans Memorial Auditorium is an historic, 1,900-plus seat theater at One Avenue of the Arts (formerly Brownell Street) in Providence. For more information, including a calendar of upcoming events, visit www.VMAri.org or call the VMA Event Line at 272-4VMA.