06/17/2026
In a recent outreach meeting in Parsons, WV, State Senator Randy Smith asked for suggestions: what would the Tucker County community like to see? In response, Alpine Heritage Preservation, Inc. (AHP), the owner of Cottrill’s Opera House, urges legislators at all levels to work on securing funding to renovate Cottrill’s Opera House.
There are many good reasons to renovate Cottrill’s; primary among them are the economic benefits the theater would bring to Tucker and surrounding counties:
- The renovation will require approximately $5.3 million in construction costs, generating $3.1 million in total construction-related economic activity in the local six-county region.
- Over its first five years of operations, Cottrill's is projected to generate $5 million in total economic activity, including revenues of nearly $2 million.
- Visitor spending tied to theater admissions is projected to generate an additional $6.1 million in economic impact from nearly 80 thousand attendees over those five years.
- Ticket sales over those five years will generate an estimated $137 thousand in state and local sales tax revenue..
- The Opera House will directly employ 3 full-time and 15 part-time staff, with an additional 25 jobs created regionally by the increased economic activity.
- Tucker County has seen 293 new businesses open between 2022 and 2024 — a 44% increase — a growing local economy that the theater will accelerate.
- Comparable theaters demonstrate proven impact: the Historic Masonic Theater in Clifton Forge, VA (a similar Appalachian setting) generated over $3 million in combined budgetary and visitor impact in its second year of operation alone. That theater doubled its attendance within five years.
- The theater is positioned to extend the tourist season into spring and fall shoulder periods, converting part-time, seasonal employment into year-round jobs.
- Evening entertainment at Cottrill's can also convert day visitors into overnight guests, significantly multiplying per-visitor spending. Data shows that overnight visitors spend an average of $204.40 per person, versus $29.77 for local attendees.
Data sources: AHP commissioned a study quantifying the economic benefits of renovating and reopening Cottrill’s Opera House. The study draws on U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis RIMS II multipliers, Americans for the Arts national data (AEP6, 2023), comparable theater case studies from Appalachia and the Southeast, and Tucker County and regional demographic profiles. The report analyzes economic impact across two phases: the renovation/construction period and five years of operations. It also projects tourism-driven spending separately.
