Walton Arts Center announces $5 million gift

Walton Family Foundation, taxpayer contributions to aid in expansion project

The Walton Arts Center in a 2010 file photo.
The Walton Arts Center in a 2010 file photo.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Walton Arts Center's expansion and renovation got a big financial boost Tuesday.

Arts center officials announced a $5 million donation from the Walton Family Foundation during a board meeting.

Broadway Series

The Walton Arts Center plans to present a five-show Procter & Gamble Broadway Series in 2015-16 — as it did in 2014-15 — despite an expansion and renovation project that’s scheduled to begin in July. The 2015-16 series includes:

• Pippin, Nov. 10-15

• Kinky Boots, Jan. 19-24

• Mamma Mia!, Feb. 9-14

• Cinderella, March 1-6

• The Bridges of Madison County, April 19-24

More information is available at waltonartscenter.org.

Source: Walton Arts Center

Then, at a Fayetteville City Council meeting, aldermen formally committed $6.3 million in hotel, motel and restaurant tax-backed bonds to the project.

"The [Walton Family Foundation's] participation in this capital campaign represents a strong vote of confidence in our future in Fayetteville and the future of arts in Northwest Arkansas," said Peter Lane, center president and CEO.

Tim Vogt, the center's vice president for finance, went on to thank Fayetteville taxpayers.

Eighty-five percent of residents who cast ballots in a November 2013 bond election voted to use a portion of the city's hospitality tax over the next 25 years to help renovate and expand the arts center.

"We recognize what a great start to the capital campaign that was," Vogt told the council. "It really kick-started everything. And we've really had so much support as a result of that. I'm here tonight as a representative of the Walton Arts Center to say thank you."

The center's $23 million project will feature a larger lobby, expanded Starr Theater, more backstage space and new administrative offices.

Work is expected to begin in July and last through fall 2016.

The Walton Family Foundation's donation is a 3-to-1 challenge grant, meaning arts center officials must raise $15 million to the foundation's $5 million.

Lane said nearly $20 million, including the Walton Family Foundation's gift and the voter-approved bond money, had been pledged as of Tuesday.

Rob Brothers, director of the Walton Family Foundation's home region program, said by email the challenge grant "reaffirms (the foundation's) commitment to the Walton Arts Center's Fayetteville facilities and challenges others to support the premier performing arts organization in the region."

Fayetteville residents and the Walton family have a long history of supporting the arts center.

In the mid-1980s, voters approved a $3.5 million sales-tax-backed bond issue for the center's construction. Another $1 million came from the city's general fund. The University of Arkansas matched taxpayers' $4.5 million investment using a donation from Sam and Helen Walton. The gift had originally been designated for a business and arts center on campus.

Two-thirds of the $9 million paid for the land purchase and initial construction of the building at 495 W. Dickson St. The other $3 million established the center's endowment. A group led by Helen Walton and Billie Jo Starr solicited millions of dollars more from individuals and businesses across Northwest Arkansas to complete construction.

Alderman Justin Tennant said Tuesday he was glad to see Fayetteville taxpayers included in a "recognition wall" that will be on display in the center's new lobby.

"The citizens of Fayetteville are a huge donor," Tennant said. "If someone wrote a personal check for that amount of money, I'm sure they would be prominently displayed in that facility."

Arts center staff are still planning a 2015-16 season despite upcoming construction.

Lane said the center will close for about four months, beginning in July, during heavy construction on Starr Theater. It is scheduled to open Nov. 10 with "Pippin," one of five shows in the 2015-16 Procter & Gamble Broadway Series.

A similar shut-down is planned next summer while the new lobby is being constructed.

"We have a big job to do," Lane said. "While under construction, we want to have a full compressed season. It's going to require a tremendous burden on a lot of our staff members to make that happen. But we are up for the challenge."

Joel Walsh can be reached by email at jwalsh@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAJoel.

A Section on 03/04/2015

Upcoming Events