BY SAMANTHA DOUTY & ALEX REECE CONTRIBUTIONS BY JACOB VAUGHN
Sorting out the details
Funding the project
The John Gore Organization is a presenter, distributor and marketer of Broadway theater worldwide, according to its website. City Council member Brian Livingston voted against approving the letter of intent. Livingston expressed concerns about the financial perfor- mance of the center and the city needing to invest more capital into the project down the line. The large hall will be used for community events and Broadway shows while the community hall will be primarily used by PISD students. The operator will run both the large hall and the community hall. The plans account for dark days, which is when the center is not in use, and open for growth days. Open for growth will be used for additional programming that has not yet been identified.
The city of Frisco is not the only entity planning to fund the project. Even if the two propositions pass in May, it will only confirm the first $160 million out of an expected final cost of $300 million-$340 million. Prosper ISD signed a letter of intent in October pledging $100 million from its $125 million arts facility bond proposition that voters passed in 2023. Letters of intent are not legally binding. “It’s an exciting possibility,” Deputy Superintendent Greg Bradley said during the October board meeting. “This is a potential awesome opportunity for our kids ... there’s no way that we could construct something like this on our own.” The proposed location for the Frisco Center for the Arts is within the roughly 7 miles of PISD land inside Frisco’s city limits. Consultants with Theatre Projects Inc. have also said the district’s students will have first right of refusal for the facility’s community hall. Most of the funding sources for the project have yet to be secured. Project con- sultants during a late January Frisco City Council work session meeting said the rest of the funding would need to come from both private and corporate donations. The city does not plan to operate the facility’s day-to-day operations. Instead, Frisco City Council approved a letter of intent in a 5-1 vote for an operator for the proposed performing arts center project during an April 1 City Council meeting. The letter of intent is for Frisco Live to oversee the center. Frisco Live is a Texas not- for-profit corporation, which is owned by The John Gore Organization. It will combine Broadway Dallas and Broadway Across America.
Usage breakdown
Large hall
5%
7%
Community
37%
15%
Popular entertainment
Broadway Dark days
18%
18%
Open for growth
For profit
Community hall
16%
Community Dark days
84%
SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO, THEATRE PROJECTS INC. /COMMUNITY IMPACT
Zooming out
The Frisco Center for the Arts will not be the only performance venue in the city. Frisco ISD broke ground in 2024 on its $54.9 million perform- ing arts center, which voters approved as part of a $691 million bond package in 2018. FISD and the city formerly had a partnership to open a joint performing arts center in partnership with Hall Park using a $10 million bond, which voters approved in 2015. FISD’s performing arts center is set to open in 2026.
FISD arts center
Frisco city arts center
• 1,200-seat auditorium • Fine arts offices • Two multipurpose rooms • Art exhibit gallery • Back of house support spaces • Mainly for Frisco ISD
• 2,800-seat large hall • 300-400 seat community hall • Community lobby • Support spaces, rehearsal areas, visual arts spaces • Shared use
SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO, FRISCO ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Looking ahead
progressing down that path,” Woodard said. Woodard is currently serving his last term on City Council—the race for his Place 4 seat will be featured in the May 3 election. Woodard said his thoughts on the project were as a Frisco resident and taxpayer, not as a council member or city spokesperson. If the propositions fail, Woodard said, the project will likely stop where it is.
Smart Frisco, a group in favor of bringing a performing arts center to Frisco, formed shortly after the two May propositions were placed on the ballot. Smart Frisco member Bill Woodard said if the ballot items pass, it would allow the city to “get to work” on the next steps in what will be a years-long process to build the facility. “There’s a lot of little milestones along the way, but this vote allows us to keep
Funding breakdown
Individual gifts Corporate gifts Prosper ISD City bond
$50M-$60M $50M-$60M
$100M $160M
SOURCE: CITY OF FRISCO /COMMUNITY IMPACT
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FRISCO EDITION
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