I recently visited the Regent Theatre early in the morning. I walked up the stairs, turned right where I’d normally turn left, and found myself in a luxurious room overlooking the street. This is a building that was saved from fire, that the community rallied around to rescue at a time when Melbourne’s heritage was being knocked down on a weekly basis. And hey, it’s where Hugh Jackman starred in Sunset Boulevard.

The sign for Wicked was still up, which has since given way to a sign for Oscar – a newly commissioned work that this week will mark the Australian Ballet’s debut at the almost-100-year-old theatre.

It’s a beautiful building, inside and out. The Regent is a space where you can almost feel the history in every nook and cranny – but even if you couldn’t, even if it were a hideous utilitarian eyesore, Lord Mayor Nick Reece’s re-election plan to sell off the space would still be incomprehensible.

We love the Regent because of its history, yes. But we need the Regent because, as a city, we need to hang on to every dedicated arts space we can. Without it our artists will suffer, and our creative future will be dampened.

Speaking to The Age at the weekend, Reece said: “I think we can get far more public good done if we sell our share in the theatre and put the proceeds back into the creative industries in Melbourne where a helping hand is needed.” He added that “a lot of people do know there are parts of the creative sector that are really struggling at the moment and could use some support from the city”.

He’s correct about the second bit: the creative sector is struggling and would benefit from city support. However, his plan for the hypothetical money from the hypothetical sale, which would occur after his hypothetical re-election, would be, among other projects, to create a “City Solstice Winter Festival” modelled on White Night.

Has Reece thought through this plan at all? Melbourne has festivals. Lots of them. Some of them great – and many that would probably benefit from more financial support. In fact, one of these festivals already exists as a partial replacement for White Night – it’s called Rising, and at the end of this year’s festival its future was in doubt.

In a year when even Australia’s seminal winter festival, Tasmania’s Dark Mofo, was pared back, is Melbourne really crying out for yet another festival when our existing ones are facing issues around attendance and funding?