Frisco City Council members ratified a letter of intent between the city and Broadway Across America during a Nov. 5 meeting. The letter is one of many steps involved in the second phase of the Frisco Center for The Arts planning study, which council members directed consultants to continue at a September meeting. It also includes a potential partnership with Prosper ISD.
Letters of intent are not enforceable. However, it does provide an outline for Frisco and Broadway Across America’s next step as both entities continue exploring the project’s feasibility in Phase Two, which is expected to include:
- Requesting qualifications for architectural design concepts
- Requesting proposals for a facility operator
- Exploring philanthropic fundraising options
- Looking into corporate sponsorship potential
Consultants with the project sent out a request for proposal in late October and are expected to meet with interested partners in pre-bid meetings in the next few days, according to a meeting presentation.
In case you missed it
The letter of intent’s existence was first announced in an Oct. 28 news release. PISD officials said at a meeting earlier in October they hope to sign their own letter of intent with Frisco as project discussions pick up speed.
The vision for the Frisco Center of the Arts, which is expected to cost $340 million, includes:
- A 2,800-seat performance hall, capable of accommodating Broadway and large touring and community productions
- A 300 to 400-seat community hall to be used primarily by PISD while also providing access to community organizations and events
- Support spaces, rehearsal areas and visual arts creative spaces
“I'm really excited to announce the intentions of partnering with Prosper ISD,” Mayor Jeff Cheney said. “They've already been an incredible partner.”
A portion of Frisco’s student population attends PISD schools, Cheney said. The city’s existing partnership with Frisco ISD proves a similar relationship with Prosper’s school district can work, he said.
Both school districts will be able to benefit from using the arts center, but only “if we're able to get that to come to the finish line,” he said.
What it means
Broadway Across America’s interest in Frisco is a huge opportunity, said Gena Buhler, a principal with Theatre Project Consultants Inc, a firm hired alongside Keen Independent to guide the project.
“You're not just getting a sort of copy and paste of Broadway Dallas coming up to Frisco,” she said. “You're going to create something brand new for Frisco that is targeted on the Frisco audience and the regional North Texas market that is here as Broadway Frisco.”
Broadway Dallas is also run by Broadway Across America. Buhler said Broadway Dallas would be the regional partner behind the incoming “Broadway Frisco.”
“[Broadway Dallas will] be responsible as the regional partner for the marketing, the promotion, the community engagement, the educational component that will include collaboration with Prosper ISD in a workforce training development program,” Buhler said.
According to the letter of intent, Broadway Across America representatives believe they could present at least 29 ticketed performances of Broadway-type shows every annual Sept. 1-Aug. 31 season at the center.
What comes next?
The next major deadline for officials to confirm they wish to continue the project is in January 2025, which is also when city officials said they would announce a location for the center.
Cheney said in the Oct. 28 news release the city would call for a bond election in 2025. If officials call for an election in February 2025, the item would appear on the May 2025 ballot.
“We're overlapping a couple of pieces here...the operator selection, the fundraising cycle, the concept design, and also now looking at potential sites and doing that analysis so that a site is available to be designed on,” Buhler said. “Once we get into January, we'll be coming back to you in certain cycles from now until the end of January, so that you can have educational pieces and steps along the way.”
City officials have previously said they cannot build the center without a Broadway partner, which council member Tammy Meinershagen said is similar to how The Star would not be possible without the Cowboys. Other funding sources for the project include a future city of Frisco bond, PISD bond funds and the philanthropic funding efforts consultants are still looking into.
There will be more opportunities for community input going forward, both for residents interested in learning more about the project and residents wishing to contribute.
“We've been saying to folks, if you're interested and want to participate in this, there's contact information on the website, which is theaterprojects.com/friscoplanning, and that's also accessible from the city website,” Buhler said.
