Editorial: Building the arts

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007 | 7:46 a.m.

Plans are well under way for the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and that is encouraging.

World-class cities have a thriving arts community, and having a performing arts center is crucial as part of building a genuine community in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Valley has seen dramatic growth in the arts community during the past several years, and the Smith Center should exponentially add to the area's vitality.

A model for the Smith Center was recently unveiled, as reported by Kristen Peterson in Wednesday's Las Vegas Sun. The model designed by architect David Schwarz, who calls his style "neo-eclectic," is marked by art deco stylings inspired by Hoover Dam and reddish stone called Nevada metaquartzite.

"We wanted something timeless, elegant, unique but with contemporary elements," said Myron Martin, president of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation. "It's the perfect blending of old and new Las Vegas."

Knowing what the building will look like should generate even more excitement about the project, and we hope it will spur more donations for the building. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation kicked off fundraising with a $50 million contribution. The foundation, though, still has to raise a significant amount of money to build the center. It plans to break ground next year on the $250 million main building that will house a 2,050-seat performance hall. Following that will be two other buildings, a $75 million facility with a 650-seat theater and a $50 million education complex with a 300-seat theater.

In a commentary written for the Sun in August, Don Snyder, the foundation chairman, said he thinks the world-class arts center will be "the most important project to be built in Las Vegas in our lifetimes."

"In a city where so much is built for visitors (and often torn down within 40 years), this center is for those of us who live here, and for our children's children," said Snyder, former president of Boyd Gaming.

This is an exciting project, and it is worthy of our community's wholehearted support.