Bank applauses opening of Ulumbarra Theatre

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and the City of Greater Bendigo announced an exciting new partnership this morning.

The Bank has signed on as a major sponsor of the city's the new Ulumbarra Theatre, and extended its ongoing support to the theatre and The Capital for the next five years.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s Executive Community Engagement Robert Musgrove, said the Bank was excited to see such an important piece of community infrastructure built.

"Bendigo is growing and our community is thriving, with many people choosing to visit or move to our great city.

"Ulumbarra Theatre intertwines our history and our future, and gives us a special place to come together and build upon our community's prosperity," said Mr Musgrove.

"We are thrilled with Bendigo Bank's support. Their backing of the project from the outset was incredibly valuable and their community corporate good citizenship is inspiring.  We are most grateful," said City of Greater Bendigo's City Futures Director Stan Liacos.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Executive Retail Dennis Bice, said the Bank has already booked its first major event at Ulumbarra Theatre, with the 2015 annual Community Bank^® National Conference to be held at the venue in September.

"For the first time in eight years the conference will return to Bendigo," Mr Bice said.

"For the past few years we have had to hold the event in other locations as there wasn’t a venue big enough to host all of our delegates here in Bendigo.

"But now we can invite the almost 1000 Community Bank^® directors and staff to our organisation’s birthplace, and share the subsequent economic and social benefits with the wider community," he said.

Mr Liacos said the completion and opening of a 1,000-seat A-grade theatre is the realisation of a long held civic dream in Bendigo. 

"To have achieved this in collaboration with three levels of government and corporate philanthropy, and through the clever conversion of a heritage listed building such as the former Sandhurst Gaol, is something the Bendigo community can be proud of.

"We are going from having one of the smallest and operationally most limiting performing arts and conference theatres among comparable cities in regional Australia to one of the largest and most advanced.  It's very exciting for Bendigo and the wider region," added Mr Liacos.