$25K to move Huntley graduation to Sears Centre?

For all the great-aunts, third cousins, family friends and neighbors who were unable to attend the Huntley High School graduation ceremony earlier this month due to limited space, school officials are considering a plan to accommodate any and all attendees.

The Huntley Area District 158 school board at its regular board meeting Thursday, will consider a contract with the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates to host the 2012 commencement ceremony.

Since the new high school campus opened in the late 1990s, graduation has been held in the East Gym, which holds about 2,000 people in the bleachers and is the largest site on campus.

But with the school’s population expected to increase, district officials said finding a new venue is the answer to the school’s growing pains. The Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, has a capacity of about 15,000.

“Next year’s graduation class will be about 500,” Huntley High School Principal Dave Johnson said. “Just doing the arithmetic, there will be less and less tickets per graduate for extended family and guests to see the student graduate.”

A draft copy of the agreement shows the district would pay a fee of $24,261 to use the facility on June 2, 2012. The costs cover items such as licenses, insurance, use of the site, security, parking attendants and technicians.

An activity account will be set up and ticket sales will cover the cost of the event, a memo from Superintendent John Burkey said. The district anticipates providing each student three to four complimentary tickets before selling extra tickets for $8 to $10.

Sears Centre Arena General Manager Ben Gibbs said the venue charges flat rate to rent the facility for the day with costs increasing based on the size of the event.

“Costs are generally based on attendance,” Gibbs said. “The bigger the event, the more staff, police, security and technicians are needed. If it is a huge graduation with lots of attendees, costs will increase exponentially.”

Community Unit District 300, which started holding graduation at the Sears Centre in 2007, paid $35,734 to hold graduation for Dundee-Crown, Hampshire and Jacobs high schools in May, said Mike Prombo, director of operations. The cost will increase 5 percent in 2012.

District 300, however, does not sell tickets to graduation.

Johnson, Huntley’s principal, said the district would consider sharing the costs with another district that might be interested in hosting their graduation ceremony on the same day.