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Frequent Asked Questions
Frequently-Asked Questions
A performing arts center will offer:1) programming currently not available in our region: national touring Broadway shows and other traveling professional performances2) an excellent acoustic venue for our local and regional performers (RSO, CAE, SEMYO, many more)3) a robust educational mission that will serve thousands of regional K-12 students, as well as offerings for all ages, including travelogues, lectures, TED-type talks, forums, etc.4) a gathering place for promoting and celebrating all aspects of our community—to be a “community living room.” We have seen PACs creating new energy, camaraderie and development elsewhere in the upper Midwest (e.g., Appleton, WI and Sioux Falls, SD), and we want to bring that to Rochester.
The primary difference is in the mission and programming. Mayo Civic Center venues cannot host national tours of Broadway or other such professional traveling performances. Their spaces are primarily used for conferences and large venue entertainment.The new Performing Art Center will have feature a main hall of roughly 2000 seats equipped with amenities required for hosting many national tours: a larger stage, extensive fly space and audiovisual capabilities, ample backstage dressing and rehearsal spaces, multiple load-in bays, etc. The large hall will also feature excellent acoustics for symphonic music as well as Broadway. A second smaller venue (600-700 seats), also with excellent acoustics, will be more flexible in configuration and intended to serve local and regional performers as well as smaller touring programs.
The offerings of the Performing Arts Center should be complementary to those at RCT — and other local theaters. A rising tide lifts all boats—our professional Broadway shows will be a positive promotion for the art form and will inspire regional performers and audiences. This synergy has been seen throughout the country whenever a new performing arts center is added to the local arts landscape.
Broadway shows, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, national touring professionals (like Blue Man Group, tribute shows, ballet), educational programs for students and adults (travelogues, meet-the-artist events, age-appropriate performances for students in partnership with regional school districts), and regional performers (Choral Arts Ensemble, SEMYO, chamber music and recitals, bands, dance, etc.)
The economic impact will be significant. The average person that attends a show spends roughly $64 -$72 per person (dining, refreshments, merchandise) and more if they are staying overnight. For example, The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton has generated of $750 million economic impact in its first 25 years, and Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls SD contributed $390 million in economic activity over its first two decades of operation.
In partnership with regional educators, we plan an educational series that will bring thousands of K-12 students from Rochester and the surrounding area for programming that will supplement their arts and reading curriculum. Summer workshops, meet-the-artist, artist-in-the-schools and other opportunities will also be a priority.
There are a number of sites being considered, most downtown or adjacent to downtown. We have had discussions with the City of Rochester, Olmsted County and the owners of the land near the old AMPI site. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the sites, which we will sort through as we progress toward construction.
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