Business Journal: Theater Plans Truncated


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(Sacramento, CA)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The shows will go on, but now with fewer bathrooms than hoped. Sacramento has cut back big plans for a $78 million renovation of the Community Center Theater. Instead, the project has shrunk to a more realistic $38 million. The city has wanted to renovate the 33-year-old venue for years. Original plans got derailed after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Then building costs soared. Last year, it announced the major renovation project, but officials couldn’t devise a way to pay for it. And efforts to raise the cash from the city’s arts-lovers competed with a fundraising campaign for Crocker Art Museum’s expansion. The skimpier project taps into realistic sources: Hotel-room taxes, a $3 ticket service charge and naming rights to the building. Cuts include additional space backstage and more rest rooms.