Shiny, sparkly Smith Center still has a few snags to smooth

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts has a few kinks to work out. Anyone who has valet parked there knows it, and yes, President and CEO Myron Martin knows it, too.

While most of the complaints I've received involve valet parking, Martin volunteered that his second area of concern is the food and beverage service, which also needs work.

Perfection at a performing arts center that's only been open six weeks is a lot to expect, even of a $470 million facility touted as one of the best of its kind.

The first shock for Las Vegas patrons, they had to pay $8 upfront to valet park. In New York and San Francisco, that would be a sweetheart deal worthy of hallelujahs. Not so in Las Vegas, where free valet is a right, not a privilege.

Even worse was the time it took to retrieve your car.

"There have been nights it's taken nearly an hour to get the last car out of here and nights where the last car takes 20 minutes," Martin admitted. "It's still a work in progress."

The valet service is contracted out to Las Vegas Parking, which sends 20 valets to The Smith Center before and after the shows to handle 200 to 300 cars.

Folks, take some responsibility. The slowdown is partly caused by patrons, yakking and saying "let's do lunch" while the valet waits and waits and waits.

Martin thought the charge (and he rejected the $10 fee first proposed) would encourage people to self-park. There are 1,200 self-parking spaces in the paved lot provided by the city, and the garage has about 350 spaces.

Martin said there's adequate parking based on an accepted formula of 2.2 patrons per car, which would cover 2,000 people in the Reynolds Hall and 600 for the smaller theaters. Sometimes they save the garage for the smaller venues so those customers will have a place to park for a later show.

One future option will be using the new City Hall parking lot at 500 S. Main St. Once a bridge is built over the railroad tracks, possibly as soon as November, that provides parking for those who don't mind walking.

For now, follow the example of Martin's wife and park in self-parking.

One alternative, the center has an agreement with the World Market Center, and it's OK if you want to park there and walk across the street. Your car won't be towed.

Also, Martin started keeping the bars and lounges open after the show to encourage people to stay and talk about what they'd just seen, rather than rush to the valet like stampeding buffaloes.

Problem No. 2: Food and beverage service is inconsistent. The service is provided by the Culinary Training Academy. Note the word training in the name. Sometimes it's been great, sometimes not.

One idea is to do fewer things, but do them well. "We're working hard on it, and I'm not going to quit before I get it right."

The third gripe I've heard involved the tall bar stools sitting in the back rows of boxes. "That's not on the list of things to fix," a surprised Martin said.

The boxes offer three tiers of seats so that people have clear views. Eliminating tiered steps allows wheelchair access to boxes.

Told of complaints from women who don't like to sit for hours with their legs dangling, and of men standing in the back throughout performances, Martin said, "We have to accept that not every seat is right for everybody. I like them a lot, but maybe part of what I have to start thinking about is how we market the boxes."

I suggest a warning label: Not for the short-legged or broad-beamed.

Hopefully, The Kinks won't play The Smith Center for long. At least that's Martin's plan.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison