Jean Mikle | Asbury Park Press

Jean Mikle, @jeanmikle

TOMS RIVER - The operators of the Count Basie Center for the Arts will book at least 20 shows in Toms River Regional's RWJ Barnabas Health Arena over the next year under an agreement endorsed by the Board of Education.

"We've already done a few shows to try to get our feet wet and see how it works," said Adam Philipson, president and CEO of the Basie, which is located in Red Bank. "It's a spectacular venue."

The 3,500-seat arena, located on the campus of Toms River High School North, already has hosted a variety of concerts and trade shows, in addition to sporting events, since it opened in 2003.

Toms River Regional schools

Artists and comedians such as Maroon 5, B.B. King, Bill Cosby and Jay Leno have performed at the venue.

But Toms River Regional Superintendent David M. Healy said the building has been underutilized.

"There is a mutual interest in expanding the arts in Toms River," Healy said of the partnership with the Basie. The agreement was backed Tuesday.

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He said Jeremy Grunin, who heads The Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation and is vice chairman of development on the Basie's executive board, was instrumental in helping to put together the agreement between Toms River and the Red Bank arts center.

Healy said he had reached out to Grunin in May, frustrated that the arena was not being used more often for arts events.

Under the agreement, the school district will receive $3 for every ticket sold for Basie-produced shows, 100 percent of all concessions, 50 percent of merchandise sales and 20 percent of the gross of all alcohol sales at the venue, Healy said.

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The district will not charge the Basie a fee for renting the arena, Healy said. Any expenses Toms River Regional incurs during the first six months of the Basie partnership will be covered by the Grunin Foundation, he added.

"This is the beginning of what I believe will be a really outstanding relationship," Healy said. The initial agreement between the district and the Basie is for one year.

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He said that students in the district's high schools will be able to take advantage of opportunities to learn about concert production at the center, while those enrolled in the new business academy at High School South will be able to work closely with Basie employees on projects at the venue.

Toms River Regional, reeling from a loss of state aid under a new school funding formula, is aggressively seeking sources of additional revenue like the Basie partnership. RWJ Barnabas Health secured the naming rights to the venue in January, and is paying the district a total of $637,500 over a five-year period.

"What we're all doing this for is to build outside revenue that will help us with the bottom line and the budget," said school board President Russell K. Corby, who discusses other advantages to the partnership in the video above this story.

In January, entertainment industry publication Pollstar named the Count Basie Center for the Arts the top ticket-selling theater in the state for the second consecutive year. The Basie, according to Pollstar, sold 235,147 tickets last year, ranking it 24th in theater ticket sales worldwide.

COURTESY OF COUNT BASIE THEATRE

The expansion project, first announced in 2015, will nearly double the Basie's size and come to include the Jay and Linda Grunin Arts and Education Building to the west of the current theater, topped by the Rock 'n' Rohl Rooftop Lounge.

A second performance space is also coming to the west, while to the east there will be an expanded lobby, new concessions and restrooms, a members lounge, the Stillwell-Larkin Pavilion and an outdoor plaza.

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The nearly century-old venue also will receive new air conditioning and heating systems, an elevator and expanded restroom facilities as well as a modernized backstage area and updated production technology.

Conceived by former Superintendent of Schools Michael J. Ritacco, the Toms River arena was initially named after the long-time superintendent.

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Ritacco was one of Ocean County's most powerful figures before he was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for accepting between $1 million and $2 million in bribes in 2012.

After his arrest, the district removed Ritacco's name from the complex.

Before RWJ Barnabas acquired the naming rights this year, the Pine Belt auto dealership held the naming rights for five years, paying the district $500,000 to have the Pine Belt name affixed on the arena.

Jean Mikle: 732-859-5149, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com