Plans for performing arts center on track

Sito Negron

Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

As pronouncements about high-rise condo projects and billion-dollar investments in downtown fly through the air, the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center project keeps quietly plugging along.

The latest step includes a consultant's report that validates what center proponents have said for years -- the valley needs it, and it can be successful.

"Part of what she (the consultant) did was question all our assumptions and interviewed tons and tons of people in Las Vegas and came up with a kind of definitive pre-architectural plan for us that tells us we were very very close in our assumptions -- how big it needs to be, and the reasons why," said Myron G. Martin, executive director of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation.

The main theater should seat 2,400 people because "that's the number that makes the big Broadway producers comfortable," and a secondary theater would seat 900, Martin said.

"So we're therefore looking forward to having the first run touring shows come to Las Vegas," Martin said.

He said the report, performed by Turnaround Arts Management of Connecticut, is more than 100 pages. He declined to say how much the report cost, and he said board members are still evaluating the report.

"At the end of the day we are absolutely convinced we are doing the right thing and this is something the community wants and needs," Martin said. "When we build it, we will no longer be the largest community in North America without a world-class performing arts center."

He said that the Artemus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is a performing arts center, but it lacks some elements needed for big-time theatrical productions.

"For example, UNLV doesn't have a fly loft, a space above stage where scenery goes in and out," Martin said.

Some proponents of the center want to have a new car rental tax adopted to help pay for the center. Martin said that issue is far from settled, and the report still only marks the beginnings of the discussion.

"We made a promise to the mayor, council and county commission that we were going to do nothing until we completed and studied the report," Martin said. "We, by design, have said we have some homework to do before we go further with the car rental tax."

Martin said the city has helped by setting aside a portion of the 61 acres plot downtown, and including development of the center as part of the overall design.

"I suspect developers will be asked to, in some way, to show support for the Performing Arts Center," Martin said. "I do think the way the city is handling it could greatly benefit the project, and I admire the way they're doing it."

City Manager Doug Selby said that developers interested in the 61 acres "have to accommodate the commitment we've made for the performing arts center. Developers have told us the performing arts center is a wonderful anchor for the type of development we're talking about so they may see it as a key feature to market and promote their overall development plan."

In addition to the report, the foundation has a Web site, www.lvpacfoundation.org.

"I consider it an important step and one that is going to be an ongoing process for us I know there's more content that needs to be there," Martin said.

An estimated 325,000 patrons a year would see 185 shows in the first year of the main hall, Martin predicted. Shows would range from touring Broadway and other productions to performances from such local groups as the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Ballet Theatre, he said.

He said the center would employ a staff to perform such educational activities as preparing pre-show materials for students and teachers, and bringing artists to local schools. In addition, the consultant recommended classroom and rehearsal space as well as a cabaret ballroom.

The report prepares the groundwork for the next step, which is getting the Clark County Commission to approve a 2 percent car rental tax. During the last legislative session state lawmakers gave the county the authority to enact such a tax.

George Stevens, the county chief financial operating officer, said a few issues remain to be resolved before that happens.

Stevens said the legislation by the state must be fixed to correct an error that committed money to the Culinary Union for design of the union's training facility. However, Stevens said, "they needed the money for construction."

He also said that the language in the legislation would mandate that the county owns the building, "which was not the original intent."

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill, said the language on both issues would be fixed in the next legislative session.

While she said she doesn't believe the bill mandates the county own the performing arts center, "I have no problem making sure the legislation is clarified."

The intent was for the project to be similar to a stadium, in which the government funds part of the construction as a public benefit, but the building is run privately -- in this case, by the performing arts foundation.

"I've done everything I can to protect it to make sure the public benefits from it but doesn't have to pay for it," said Giunchigliani, noting that the car rental fees would apply mostly to tourists, and exempt Nevada residents who needed a temporary replacement car.

Stevens said that the money generated by the tax would allow the county to finance bonds that would raise a little less than half of what was needed to build the $125 million facility. The foundation is responsible for raising the rest of the money from private sources.

Stevens said that the county has given the performing arts group $75,000 in each of the last two years.

Another issue could be car rental agencies' opposition to the tax. In July 2003, a manager at Dollar Rent-a-Car sent a letter to commission members, pointing out that taxes and fees already account for about 27 percent of car rental costs.

Opponents of car rental taxes also point out that it is not always just tourists or out-of-town business people who need to rent cars.