Shea's CEO: Goal is to make Shea's 710 Theatre '24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week destination'

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Major renovations at Shea’s 710 Theatre are designed to make the complementary venue a “24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week destination,” Shea’s president and CEO Brian Higgins said Tuesday.

Shea’s on Wednesday will fully unveil its $5 million plan to expand the 625 person capacity venue, which sits adjacent to the main theater on Main Street. The expansions are part of a larger $50 million capital project that is expected to be complete by 2027.

The renovations for Shea’s 710 are set to include a 30% increase in usable square footage, a two-story lounge and cabaret, a sensory room, and upgrades to concession areas, restrooms and the lobby. The project at Shea’s 710 is expected to take six months.

Shea’s is still working to raise the $50 million needed, but Higgins said there is “incremental progress” in raising the money needed to complete the project.

“Part of what I have to do is raise money for these projects,” Higgins said. “You’re prospecting, you’re talking to people that have an interest in the viability of downtown Buffalo.”

Higgins, a longtime Western New York congressman, took over at Shea’s last year following a two-decade run in Washington, D.C.

Shea’s is celebrating its 100 year anniversary in 2026. Part of Higgins’ plan he laid out when he started the job was exploring partnership opportunities with the Michigan Street African American Corridor and engaging more downtown residents.

“When the theatres are active, when the venues are active, there’s a lot of people there,” Higgins said. “When they’re not, there aren’t. So we want to make the theater district a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week destination.”

The entire $50 million project, dubbed “Elevate Shea’s,” calls for $30 million going towards expansions at the main Shea’s Theatre, $5 million for a roof replacement, $5 million for placemaking in the area and preservation of the Shea’s campus and $5 million towards an endowment.

“Buffalo’s theater audience is extraordinarily loyal and we want to give back to ensure their experience is even better,” Higgins said. “Our job is to make sure the patron experience, the audience experience, is comfortable, is safe and is efficient.”

You can view the full interview with Higgins in the video player above.