The subject, Fully Utilizing Kingdom Hall Auditoriums, puts a positive spin on a big problem. Rather than saying 'meeting attendance is down, Kingdom Halls are at 1/3 capacity, and donations are decreasing, they begin by citing a situation that rarely, if ever exists.
When an auditorium is overcrowded and no additional meeting times can be
scheduled, building a new Kingdom Hall may be the most practical
solution.
How often does this happen? Standing room only at a K.H.? I remember this in the early 1970s locally, but when I stopped attending meetings in 2006 the K.H. was 2/3 empty for mid-week meetings and about 1/2 empty on Sunday; I doubt there has been a boom in meeting attendance since.
If new Kingdom Halls are built when there is an overcrowding situation, figure on about '0' new Halls.
Presented second is the real situation, the 'on the other hand' scenario.
On the other hand, the master plan may identify auditoriums that could
be better utilized. [...] Could congregations merge in order to
make better use of the auditorium capacity? Could a congregation
relocate to an auditorium with sufficient parking and seating?
As usual Watchtower is handling a problem, in this case low meeting attendance, without clearly identifying what the real problem is. Witnesses will be left thinking there is growth even though it isn't happening in their area; many will see there is low meeting attendance in their Hall, but think they must be the exception.
And when the extra Kingdom Halls are sold, the ones left over after congregations merge, where will the proceeds go? Straight to Watchtower of course. It will ultimately be another cash grab by "God's Organization."
Edit: This amounts to a HUGE double dip. First Watchtower takes congregations' savings accounts by claiming that new Kingdom Halls are needed, and Second they sell off existing Kingdom Halls that are left over after the merge, pocketing even more money. Smooth.