Heavy competition from other nearby suburban centers can cut into both booking possibilities and audience size. When Michael Feinstein played one recent Sunday night at the College of DuPage's McAninch Arts Center in Glen Ellyn, he was faced with plenty of empty seats. That may have had something to do with Feinstein's recent appearance at the North Shore Center. It's just something you have to deal with. Then there's the issue of price.
Suburban presenters argue that affordability is a lot more important away from downtown.
Suburban audiences may respond to quality, but they generally don't like to pay top dollar. The people who live out here are not hit with the high cost of parking and restaurants on a regular basis. People are much more interested in value. Orchard also argues that there is a much higher demand in the suburbs for family-driven entertainment. The cultural roots of the parents may be defiantly urban, but people move out because they have kids.