Sally Roach of the Township Auditorium
Star Profile
Story and photo by John Temple Ligon

Sally Roach

In its 78th year, Columbia's Township Auditorium looks pretty much as it did when it opened in 1930. Designed by George and Robert Lafaye, its front façade takes its architectural influences from Symphony Hall in Boston, which was designed by Stanford White and was opened in the fall of 1900.

The Township needs some alterations to the rear of the stage, an expansion longed for ever since opening night in 1930. Sally Roach, executive director at the Township, came into her job as the city was moving out of its interest in the Township and taking about $12 million with it. Roach's budget to bring the Township up to market demands dropped at the departure of the city from $24 million to $12 million.

Sally Roach was born in Mt. Clemens, Mich., where her father was the town mortician and her mother was the secretary for the superintendent of the schools. She was one of 11 children in her Catholic family.

Roach attended all Catholic schools until her sophomore year in high school, which was when the money ran out at the Catholic school, and it closed. Roach's last three years of high school nurtured her skills as a guard on the varsity basketball team.

She went directly to college at Central Michigan University and finished in less than four years. As a major in broadcasting and cinema, Roach gained experience running a college television show, and she also worked for two radio stations.

Soon after graduation, Roach worked for Ice Capades as their marketing director for four years. TIcher oCuagpha dheers contacts with , she learned the ins and outs of arenas. She shifted as a marketing director and worked for the 8,000- seat all- purpose arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In 1983, after 15 months in Cedar Rapids, Roach took over the marketing for the New Haven, Conn., arena for the next three years.

She then moved to Arlington, Va., for two years to run the office of meetings planning for the American Bankers Association, and in her second year she also handled public relations.

From her home in Great Falls, Va., Roach ran her own business, managing group sales in Baltimore and Washington for clients such as Ringling Bros. Circus and other large touring shows.

She met her husband while they were both working for Ringling Bros. The circus had its headquarters on New Mexico Avenue in Washington, and they wintered in Sarasota.

Roach's husband now teaches in USC's Department of Sports and Entertainment Management, where he is also the interim chair.

Roach has been the executive director of the Township since July 2003. Her other positions in the entertainment field before taking over the Township include managing marketing for the Oakland Coliseum, Rose Bowl, and Los Angeles Coliseum.

Richland County has approved a $12 million budget to bring the Township up to standards for the traveling Broadway shows. There is no stage technical package in Columbia that meets Broadway standards. It's tough to sign acts on tour when there is not enough room behind the performance stage to store equipment and when there isn't adequate rigging.

The dressing rooms at the Township need upgrading.

The lobby could use some more room, but that requires relocating the Township's offices to another part of the building. There is no elevator.

The Township is not La Scala, the famous opera house in Milan, Italy, but it can be Columbia's premier entertainment multi- purpose center, suitable for Broadway, opera, and ballet. Roach, on the other hand, does not restrict its use at all. If the rent gets paid, the stage gets scheduled and, with a little upgrade, the 3,183 seats get filled.