Houston First is in the process of renovating Jones Hall "to upgrade the acoustics, infrastructure, safety, and audience accessibility and amenities," according to language submitted with the agenda item.
Council Member Robert Gallegos—who represents District I, where the city's Theater District is located—said renovations at Jones Hall, built in the 1960s, are long needed.
Gallegos used the opportunity to bring up a separate funding request made by a coalition of Houston-area arts and cultural entities earlier in 2022. The group—which includes all seven of the city's recognized cultural districts, the Miller Theatre Advisory Board, Arts Accountability Houston and Texans for the Arts, among others—is asking the city of $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to help offset financial losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
During the pandemic, many theaters had to continue to pay actors and technicians to keep them on staff while not bringing any revenue in, Gallegos said.
"They are hurting, and this is a major, major economic engine ... in order to bring people back to downtown and have residents move into downtown," Gallegos said at the Oct. 19 meeting.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city was still evaluating the request and had not made any decisions, though he said it was unlikely the city would be able to fund the entire request.
"I am a strong, huge supporter of the arts," Turner said at the Oct. 19 meeting. "Fifteen million, I will tell you, is a high number. ... We are not going to be able to do $15 million."
Turner said the city had to weigh the $15 million request alongside other priorities that ARPA funding can be used on, including public safety, which he said was the city's No. 1. priority, and affordable housing. The city has received roughly $607 million in ARPA funds, and a website was launched in 2021 laying out plans for how they will be used.
"We will do something, but I'm just not in a position to say what the number is," Turner said. "We’ve been kind of waiting to see where things are."
Although theaters and museums are opening up again, Hillary Hart, executive director of Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, said costs are simultaneously increasing, including marketing costs to reach audiences, staffing costs and general costs associated with putting on a show. The $15 million would help the industry recover in an equitable way and bring back lost jobs, she said.
The pandemic caused an estimated $1.65 billion in losses to the city's creative community along with 42,000 jobs, Hart said. Citing a 2015 Americans for the Arts study, Houston's art sector generated more than $1.1 billion in economic activity and just under $120 million in local and state revenue, she said.
"It's important for arts and culture to be supported as part of the recovery effort, remembering not only the intrinsic value we bring, but the economic value we bring to this conversation," Hart said.
The Foundation for Jones Hall announced plans for $50 million in renovations in June, including acoustical and infrastructure improvements; new, relocated restrooms; new, wider stairways; an expanded Green Room; and an expansion of the theater's lobby, according to a news release sent out at the time. The bulk of the renovations will be funded by a capital campaign, "Overture to the Future," which had raised $25.5 million as of late June.
Renovation work is expected to primarily take place in the summer, during the off seasons of groups like the Houston Symphony and Performing Arts Houston. Future phases will include additional acoustical improvements, and renovations to the Green Room, lobby and other public spaces to ease congestion.
