Race is on to raise money for performing arts
Fund-raising officially began on Thursday for what organizers hope will be the new Glacier Performing Arts Center at Glacier High School north of Kalispell.
After pitching their plan to the school board on Tuesday night, then hearing from a group of community leaders on Wednesday, the center's volunteer board and steering committee launched a fast-paced campaign.
They hope to raise $20 million for the center, including firm commitments by July 5 for $13 million to $16 million.
Promissory notes to cover construction costs have to be in hand by mid-July, when the school's already-tight building schedule calls for massive piers to be sunk in the earth to support the weight of the finished building.
An additional $3.5 million to $4 million is needed for start-up money and to establish an endowment to offset ongoing operating expenses and keep a lid on ticket prices.
Glacier Performing Arts Center board president Jean
Hagan said the next 12 days will focus on identifying support for the partnership with School District 5.
Without the $13 million to $16 million in signed promissory notes - the range correlates to the square footage and features included - the collaboration cannot proceed under current arrangements.
The arts center board will meet on July 6 to gauge support for the partnership. If it's a go, board members would work with community leaders to have those signed promissory notes in hand within three days.
The proposal would upgrade the school's planned theater, music and visual arts space from a 600-seat auditorium and black box theater to a 1,300-seat performance hall and 250- to 300-seat theater.
It would have all the trappings to attract the caliber of traveling Broadway productions that come to Spokane, accommodate Glacier Symphony and Chorale performances, and bring in big-name concert artists.
School trustees budgeted $2.5 million for the auditorium, theater and related class space. That will be the only taxpayer money dedicated to the project.
The private, tax-deductible money raised through the campaign would cover costs of the upgrade to a university-level performance center.
Initially, the Glacier Performing Arts Center board had proposed a $21 million stand-alone facility, with the most likely location the Flathead Valley Community College campus.
But the partnership between the high school and arts center, Hagan pointed out, cuts costs by a third or more. It also offers potential for enhancing the arts education program at the school.
When finished, District 5 would take ownership of the building. A separate entry and parking area, Hagan noted, will provide "a distinct 'feel' of entering a (performing arts center), not a school, when attending performances."
The two groups would collaborate on scheduling events, with school needs to take precedence, particularly during the school year. Glacier Symphony and Chorale is expected to consider the facility its home.
The two parties would hammer out a mutual agreement, modeled after a similar partnership for the Eccles Center in Park City, Utah, that covers maintenance, operations, outside acts, liability, scheduling and other issues.
Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com