The city cannot afford a $400-500 million commitment in the middle of a budget deficit era, with outstanding backlogs on parks and streets. Apparently neither can PSU, which is why they are asking city taxpayers to foot the bill.
We would be better off to renovate the Keller in stages as resources allow in the future, instead of abandoning it- or converting it at great cost with money we don’t have.
And PSU is no Julliard, neither in the quality of its music and theater faculty, alumni and students nor in its ability to attract private philanthropy to foot the bill for its edifice complex.
What began as a proposal for a theater has become an extravagant campus-development scheme with a theater attached.
The real beneficiaries would be the hotel operator, architects, consultants, contractors, construction unions, property interests, and institutions hoping increased activity will revive that part of downtown.
The city cannot afford a $400-500 million commitment in the middle of a budget deficit era, with huge outstanding backlogs on parks and streets. Apparently neither can PSU, which is why they are asking city taxpayers to foot the bill.
We would be better off to renovate the Keller in stages as resources allow in the future, instead of abandoning it- or converting it at great cost with money we don’t have.
The PSU Broadway theatre plan is the worst imaginable concept for Portland. PSU's ongoing financial crisis with no solution in sight means that it will in all likelihood not be able to fund its obligations for the other connected components of the proposal - and that assumes the City picks up all of the substantial operating costs the new PSU B'way theatre would require.
To be blunt, PSU is a weak financial partner for the City, given the University's inability to manage its own substantial funding shortfalls even after several decades of developing ineffective solutions. The only logical conclusion is that (despite PSU's claims) the City will end up fully funding construction and subsequent operating costs of the PSU Broadway Theatre.
Having spent my career raising money for universities and academic medical centers, my experience is that this type of project is ordinarily funded largely through capital campaigns — not through public appropriations or debt financing. This is the way that theaters were funded at Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Yale, Princeton, and other higher ed institutions. While the prospect of the theater complex envisioned by PSU is extremely exciting, I among others question whether its operations would pencil out financially in the midst of other competing performance venues in the downtown area. I would also want to know upfront through a rigorous fundraising feasibility study how much could be raised from charitable donations if a major campaign were to be launched.
The city cannot afford a $400-500 million commitment in the middle of a budget deficit era, with outstanding backlogs on parks and streets. Apparently neither can PSU, which is why they are asking city taxpayers to foot the bill.
We would be better off to renovate the Keller in stages as resources allow in the future, instead of abandoning it- or converting it at great cost with money we don’t have.
And PSU is no Julliard, neither in the quality of its music and theater faculty, alumni and students nor in its ability to attract private philanthropy to foot the bill for its edifice complex.
What began as a proposal for a theater has become an extravagant campus-development scheme with a theater attached.
The real beneficiaries would be the hotel operator, architects, consultants, contractors, construction unions, property interests, and institutions hoping increased activity will revive that part of downtown.
The city cannot afford a $400-500 million commitment in the middle of a budget deficit era, with huge outstanding backlogs on parks and streets. Apparently neither can PSU, which is why they are asking city taxpayers to foot the bill.
We would be better off to renovate the Keller in stages as resources allow in the future, instead of abandoning it- or converting it at great cost with money we don’t have.
The PSU Broadway theatre plan is the worst imaginable concept for Portland. PSU's ongoing financial crisis with no solution in sight means that it will in all likelihood not be able to fund its obligations for the other connected components of the proposal - and that assumes the City picks up all of the substantial operating costs the new PSU B'way theatre would require.
To be blunt, PSU is a weak financial partner for the City, given the University's inability to manage its own substantial funding shortfalls even after several decades of developing ineffective solutions. The only logical conclusion is that (despite PSU's claims) the City will end up fully funding construction and subsequent operating costs of the PSU Broadway Theatre.
Having spent my career raising money for universities and academic medical centers, my experience is that this type of project is ordinarily funded largely through capital campaigns — not through public appropriations or debt financing. This is the way that theaters were funded at Stanford, Northwestern, UCSD, Yale, Princeton, and other higher ed institutions. While the prospect of the theater complex envisioned by PSU is extremely exciting, I among others question whether its operations would pencil out financially in the midst of other competing performance venues in the downtown area. I would also want to know upfront through a rigorous fundraising feasibility study how much could be raised from charitable donations if a major campaign were to be launched.