Laura Mooney
Arts Editor

t the city council meeting on 18

November 2013, Ken Kilcullen,
chairman of the Performing Arts
Center project, approached city
hall council members and mayor
Shari Green once again to plead his
case to finally get the Arts Center
project up and off the ground,
with greater success this time.
Kilcullen’s plan was not to bluntly
state that the project should
begin to be built immediately, but
instead more modestly asked for
the council to declare that “The
Prince George Regional Performing
Arts Center as the city’s priority
capital project and to instruct city
administration staff to refine the
project’s budget and establish a
timeline towards construction.”

The Performing Arts Center,

a project that has been on the
minds of many since 2001 when

it was first recognized as a need
for the city, would boast a huge
space of nearly 68000 square feet,
taking up one entire city block and
making it the largest project in the
downtown area. It would feature
800 seats in the primary theatre,
250 seat flex space theatre, and

a multipurpose space. One of the
main stereotypes that have swirled
around the project is that it would
only bring in symphonies and
high art performances, a rumor
that was brought up by Councilor
Garth Frizzell, who wondered

if the average person in Prince
George would benefit from such

a building. Kilcullen aptly replied
that while the center would have
performances such as these, it
would also house many other

fs events such as comedy
tours, music festivals, and
even weddings. It was also
stated that while the city
has more than enough
facilities to house other
type of recreation, such
as sports and plays, the
Performing Arts Center
was the one piece missing
from Prince George’s cultural
facilities. The project has
been on everyone’s minds
for so long, it was just simply
time for city council to step
up and take over the reins of
the project.

Nevertheless, while Mayor Shari
Green brought up that “this is the
project I would like to see the city
next take on” the main issue will
always be funding. The center,
which would cost a whopping $42.5
million, is subject to the harsh
reality that, in general, cities do
not spend funds on recreational
projects such as the Performing
Arts Center, and instead put the
money towards city repairs and
things deemed more important.
Although the Center’s request

for funding through the Canada
P3 fund (a type of government
fund) was unsuccessful, Kilcullen
stated that their hopes were that
the Canada Economic Action
Plan, along with funding from the
provincial government, who had
expressed interest in the project,
would contribute to making the
Arts Center possible.

In general however, the council
decided that it was about time that
the Performing Arts Center became
a serious priority for the city, and,
if asked of them, the funding would

be found. While there are still many

important aspects which need to
be discussed, such as the location
of the building and the issue of
this new center taking away some
of the city’s dedication to other

art centers such as the Playhouse,
Councilor Albert Koehler brought
up a very important point; the arts
community used to be fragmented,
but now we see places such as

the Playhouse and the Symphony
Orchestra working together for
the first time. This shows that the
arts are becoming more of a single,
large entity in our community

rather than being multiple

small sections, showing that the
community is growing and that

the city must accommodate for
that growth. In the end, to much
applause from the attending crowd,
it was unanimously decided that
the Performing Arts Center would
become a primary capital project
for the city of Prince George.

While this is only the beginning
for the Performing Arts Center
project, it is still a huge win for
Kilcullen and all those who have
been involved since the project
first came around in 2001. To
finally have the support of the city
council means that so much more
can now be done in preparation
for the building of the project

to actually begin. While the
timeline proposed to city hall by
Kilcullen stated that, preferably,
construction would begin in 2015
with the opening season in 2016,
whether that timeline will remain
intact is up to city council now.
However, what about the approval
of the residents? Councilor Dave
Wilbur stated that while the
project may have the support of
the council, it will never have the
complete support of the residents
of Prince George. The majority of
the residents are not in favour of
the Arts Center being constructed,
as shown in a poll a couple years
ago, and one can expect that not
many of them have changed their
minds. But as Kilcullen stated, the

c

Arts 9

Performing Arts Center Gets the Green Light

center will not be holding strictly
high art performances, but will be a
venue for all sorts of entertainment
that have not been able to come

to Prince George before simply
because the city lacked the
appropriate housing. It would also
be a huge source of revenue for

the city, as well as provide multiple
jobs for residents. One of the main
points that Kilcullen made was that
a similar Arts Center was built in
Vernon, and the city now proclaims
it to be one of the best, and most
prosperous buildings, they ever
constructed.

So even if not everyone in the

city is showing support for the
construction of the Performing Arts
Center, the important thing was
getting council on board, which
has finally occurred. It looks as
though the center will be a huge
benefit to the city of Prince George,
and will allow for many new
opportunities to draw in acts and
performances the city has not been
able to host before. Only time will
tell when this project will actually
be able to break ground, but the
support received will only benefit
this project, and will allow Prince
George to finally expand its ever
growing culture.

PRINCE GEORGE

REGIONAL
Performing Arts
Centre Society

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