Posted Apr 14, 2022, 12:17 AM
|
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 6,610
|
|
Hormel Theater ( PHX Art Museum) Double in size
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/...-campaign.html
the theater at Phoenix art museum is going to double its seating
Quote:
Phoenix Theatre Co. is back in building mode, with plans for a $20 million renovation of its theater that will include the construction of a 500-seat theater.
This project has been a long time coming, said Vincent VanVleet, executive director of Phoenix Theatre Co., which started its capital campaign right before the Great Recession put all fundraising to a halt in 2008.
Then, in 2017, the nonprofit started a $20 million capital campaign in advance of its centennial celebration in 2020.
But the coronavirus pandemic derailed those plans once again.
"The centennial got derailed," VanVleet said. "We had bigger fish to fry during the past two years."
Plans call for expanding the company's current 250-seat Hormel Theater to 500 seats. Technical improvements include a full fly loft, below stage traps and a stage large enough to accommodate pre-Broadway show development.
Plans call for construction to be completed in winter 2024.
"Our goal is to attract pre-Broadway projects," VanVleet said.
The expansion project will make the theater more competitive in attracting these development projects, and that has the potential to bring millions into the local economy, he said.
"We recently had to turn down two Broadway producers because our Mainstage and Hormel theaters currently lack important technical capabilities, which we estimate the cost to the community more than $1 million in potential economic impact," VanVleet said.
The arts and culture industry represents 5.5 million jobs nationwide and 4.3% of the U.S. gross domestic product, he said.
Every dollar spent on an arts ticket generates an additional $5 to $7 for the local economy in terms of ancillary business, including restaurants, hotels, fabric stores, hardware stores, printers, caterers and piano tuners, VanVleet said.
With the expansion, those numbers will only increase, he said.
"It's going to be a real game changer for the city of Phoenix and for the art and culture sector here," VanVleet said.
|
|