SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — The Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center faces potential closure after city council members rejected the organization’s request for $28 million in municipal bonds during a Tuesday meeting.
The performing arts center had asked the city to issue bonds to fund completion of the 59,000-square-foot facility, with organizers promising to repay the debt.
“We are asking for support through a municipal bond that we will repay through operations, grants and naming rights,” said Andrea Olsen of the Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center.
Construction on the project halted in 2023, leaving the facility only 19% complete despite more than $18 million raised in private donations. The $48 million project had a projected 2024 opening date that has since passed.
City council members cited multiple concerns in their decision to deny the bond request, including the substantial financial commitment, the center’s troubled financial history and an additional $96,000 cost for a required feasibility study.
“They need to use our credit in order to get a reasonable interest rate. And it’s the people’s credit, right? It’s you guys. It’s citizens of Spokane Valley, and you did not sign on to purchase a $28 million bond on a theater,” said Spokane Valley City Council Member Pam Haley.
Mayor Laura Padden expressed skepticism about the center’s financial viability, noting that private funding sources have withdrawn support.
“The banks have pulled back and the private donations have pulled back. And so they look to us to solve their problem. But it’s not up to us,” Padden said. “If we’re going to float bonds, we have a public safety campus that we need to work on. We have roads that need work and preservation,”
The performing arts center now faces a critical deadline, with organizers stating they have only one month remaining to secure the $10 million needed to keep the project alive. If the funding cannot be obtained within that timeframe, the center will be dissolved and the land will be sold.
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