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• Overview
• Architecture and Design
• LEED Certified
• Revitalizing Downtown
  Las Vegas
• Symphony Park
• Project History and Timeline
• Multimedia
• Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where will The Smith Center for the Performing Arts be located?

  Set on nearly five acres in downtown Las Vegas, The Smith Center will be at the heart of downtown’s new urban development Symphony Park.

  The 4.75-acre Smith Center will be northeast of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which is at the corner of Bonneville Avenue and Grand Central Parkway.
• What do the plans include?

  The venues include the magnificent 2,050-seat Reynolds Hall, complete with stunning balconies, a dramatic stage and a full orchestra pit capable of seating up to 100 musicians; the 300-seat cabaret theater that overlooks Symphony Park and is ideal for jazz, cabaret and other performances best seen and heard in an intimate setting; and the 200-seat studio theater, ideal for rehearsals, children’s theater, community events and private social gathers.

  The theaters have been meticulously designed to provide optimal sightlines and refined acoustics. As a result, performers and patrons will connect like never before. State-of-the-art recording equipment will preserve performances for the future, ensuring that they will continue to be enjoyed as digital masterpieces.

  The Smith Center’s education facility, the Boman Pavilion, will also house offices, classrooms and additional multipurpose rooms suitable for workshops and presentations.

• What is the timeline?
  The Smith Center broke ground in May 2009 and is projected to open in Spring 2012.
• What will it look like?
  Inspired by many styles of architecture including Art Deco, The Smith Center will be constructed out of Indiana limestone and feature smooth masculine lines that are rich in detail. At 16 stories above it all will be an incredible bell tower that will house a four-octave carillon comprising 46 handcrafted bronze bells. The tower will be topped with a stainless steel silver crown.
• Who will design the facility?

  The Smith Center has assembled an internationally renowned design team. David M. Schwarz Architects, Inc. is known for extraordinary buildings. Schwarz has designed two of the most celebrated U.S. performing arts facilities—Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. Schwarz’s firm is also responsible for designing other great public assembly buildings including the American Airlines Center in Dallas and the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

  HKS Architects, Inc., a top-five architectural firm is the executive architect. Fisher Dachs Associates, Inc. is recognized as a leading theater consultant, with more than 250 projects around the globe. Akustiks is known for refined acoustical design and is responsible for several recent acoustical successes including, the restoration of Severance Hall, renovations to the John F. Kennedy Center Concert Hall and the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

  The design team also includes Donnell Consultants Incorporated (cost management), Whiting-Turner (construction manager at risk), The Projects Group (project management), Kleinfelder, Inc., HMA Consulting, IBA Consultants, Martin & Martin Civil Engineers and Surveyors, MSA Engineering Consultants, SBLD Studio, Terracon, Two Twelve Associates, Inc., Green Building Services, and Walter P. Moore Engineers and Consultants.
• Will the facility be environment-friendly?
  Since the project’s inception, creating a highly efficient and sustainable campus has guided the design and construction process. The Smith Center’s sustainable features will include energy efficient windows, water wise restroom fixtures and natural lighting wherever possible. The Smith Center is expected to be the nation’s first performing arts center of its size and scope to be LEED certified.
• What kind of performances will be offered?
  Designed to address the needs of community residents, The Smith Center will offer a blend of performances by local arts groups as well as first-run touring attractions. It will feature music, theater, and dance companies who celebrate cultures from all over the world. The Smith Center’s resident companies will include the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre.
• What kinds of educational programs will be offered?

  The Smith Center will stage many performances, workshops and master classes for students in Clark County. The Smith Center has joined with the Clark County School District and the Cultural Division of Clark County to participate in the John F. Kennedy Center Partners in Education Program. This partnership features national and international artists who conduct workshops for teachers and students, connecting the arts to all areas of the curriculum.

  In the fall of 2009, The Smith Center became one of 16 regional programs in the country in cooperation with the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Virginia. This internationally recognized program enhances preschool education by training teachers how to incorporate creative music, theater and dance into their curricula. Southern Nevada Wolf Trap is in partnership with United Way of Southern Nevada Success By 6 and Citi in Nevada.

• How will The Smith Center be different than other local theaters?
  Unlike many Las Vegas showrooms, The Smith Center will be a technical work of art with the latest advancements and amenities. It will accommodate the largest touring attractions, and yet be acoustically refined to showcase the finest soloists. It will be a stand-alone, family-friendly cultural arts center that will serve the needs of our community, local arts organizations, and our children.
• Where will patrons park?
  The City of Las Vegas has agreed to provide parking. Office buildings that neighbor The Smith Center will be required to provide parking on nights and weekends—a time when these lots aren’t generally in use—resulting in approximately 1,200 parking spaces for arts patrons. If the Center opens prior to these office buildings being created, the City will pave, stripe, and light a surface parking lot for use by The Smith Center.
• How much will it cost?
  The project has a total value of approximately $470 million, which includes $245 million in hard construction costs, the value of land, infrastructure, parking, environmental clean up and endowment.
• How will it be funded?

  The Smith Center will be funded by a public-private partnership.

  Public Sector: The city of Las Vegas will provide land, infrastructure, environmental clean-up, and parking. The city of Las Vegas, Clark County and State Legislature collaborated on a car rental fee that resulted in a bond of $105 million. The City commitment totals $170 million.

  Private Sector: In 2005, The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation with a landmark gift of $50 million, in honor of their chairman, Fred W. Smith, and his wife, Mary, led our private funding campaign. Since then, the Reynolds Foundation has continued their generosity, pledging an additional $100 million grant to help complete the campus. This gift is the largest philanthropic donation in state history, and combined with their initial contribution, makes it the second largest donation to the performing arts in the United States.

  We continue to receive generous donations from a variety of companies, organizations, and private citizens.
• Who is making it happen?
  The Smith Center’s board of directors has been working on this project for more than a decade. The board is comprised of Chairman Donald D. Snyder, Vice Chairman Dr. Keith Boman, Charles Atwood, Senator Richard Bryan, Alan Feldman, Robert Forbuss, Nancy Houssels, Gary Jacobs, Scott MacTaggart, Richard Plaster, Jacqulyn Shropshire, Kim Sinatra, and Roger Thomas. President and CEO Myron G. Martin has an extensive background in production and performing arts center management.
• Who will own the facility?
  Until the bond on rental car fees is paid, the city of Las Vegas will own the facility and The Smith Center will operate it under a long-term lease agreement. After the bond is paid, The Smith Center anticipates that the city will deed the center back to the Foundation.
• Why downtown?
  The downtown area is an easily accessible city-center location. Its central location makes it an attractive destination for all residents in the valley. In cities across the country, performing arts centers have been an effective tool for downtown revitalization. Based on these case studies, the mayor and city planners were pleased to set aside downtown property for the project.
• Can Las Vegas support such a facility?
  A public opinion survey by renowned pollster Frank Luntz showed overwhelming, broad-based support for a performing arts center. A series of feasibility and operating studies support the community’s need for and ability to support The Smith Center. Clark County Commissioners and state legislators scrutinized this information before approving public support of the project.
• How will The Smith Center work with local arts organizations?

  Serving as an incubator for new artistic endeavors, our programs will reach beyond The Smith Center campus and spread throughout the community, providing inspiration and encouragement to local arts organizations.

  The Smith Center’s state-of-the-art facilities will enable organizations to flourish artistically and grow institutionally, ultimately fulfilling our city’s longstanding dream of engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through an array of inspiring programs.