What's next for rejected Frisco performing arts center
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This is what many Frisco leaders wanted. Rendering: Courtesy of the city of Frisco
The future of a proposed, but voter-rejected, performing arts center in Frisco may come down to who's elected to two City Council seats in a June runoff.
- The project was intended to bring Broadway shows to the city.
Why it matters: Frisco is no longer a burgeoning suburb. Corporate offices line the highways, the Dallas Cowboys practice there, and, as the home to FC Dallas, the city will be a major player in next year's FIFA World Cup.
- But the city lacks a robust arts scene.
Driving the news: Voters rejected two propositions on Saturday that would've issued $160 million in bonds to build the Frisco Center for the Arts.
- It's unclear what will happen to the plans for the project. The City Council will need to discuss what's next.
- "We ask for patience and grace. Regardless of our personal preferences, please trust we will be measured and thoughtful as we consider the future of this project," Mayor Jeff Cheney tells Axios in a statement.
State of play: Most council members supported the measures, and the mayor has said a performing arts center would help the city attract — and keep — businesses.
- But some residents and two council candidates opposed building a performing arts center because of the cost.
The intrigue: Frisco has lost out to Nashville on some Fortune 500 company relocations, the mayor wrote on LinkedIn last week.
- "The common thread is companies that want their employees to have access to arts and culture," Cheney wrote.
- Nashville is notably called Music City.
Context: Frisco planned to partner with Broadway Dallas and Broadway Across America to run the 200,000-square-foot venue.
- The center was designed to include several performance spaces, including a 2,800-seat theater and a smaller 300- to 400-seat community hall.
Follow the money: Prosper ISD planned to contribute $100 million from bond funds to help pay for the estimated $340 million development. The community hall would've primarily been used by the school district.
- The $160 million in city bonds would have been primarily paid off by sales taxes. City officials said the bonds wouldn't have raised property taxes.
- Corporate sponsorships and philanthropy was expected to cover the rest.
The other side: City Council candidate Burt Thakur opposed the propositions, pointing to Frisco ISD's project to build its own theater center.
- He said the city should work with the school district to bring more performing arts to the facility already under construction.
What's next: Thakur is headed to a runoff election on June 7 against incumbent Tammy Meinershagen, who serves as the deputy mayor pro tem and lists the arts center as a City Council priority.
- Jared Elad, who also opposed the propositions, and Gopal Ponangi, who hasn't made the center a focal point of his campaign, will also face off in the June runoff to replace incumbent Bill Woodard, who did not run for reelection.