With the Memorial Auditorium renovation already underway in Sacramento, the City also hopes to do similar renovations to the Community Center Theater and the Sacramento Convention Center.
The auditorium is located on J Street and occupies the entire block between 15th and 16th Streets. The architecture is classic and on the National registry of Historic Places. If you've been in Sacramento long enough you may have attended a graduation or two at the landmark building.
The changes are being made primarily in the interior and are focusing on enhancements to performance and improved seating. But when it comes to cost, the Memorial Auditorium project is slated to set the city back $16 million.
If you’re wondering where the money is coming from, it is being fully funded by money coming from what the city collects from the hotel/motel tax.
"That’s great, if you own a hotel downtown, but taxation is supposed to benefit the public,” said Craig Powell, a critic of the overall idea. “It's not supposed to benefit politically connected players in the local markets."
And it’s important to note that all these projects are connected.
For example, once the Memorial Auditorium is finished in May of 2019, the shows that are normally held at the Community Center Theater will move over to the Memorial.
"If we had to work around shows, it would have taken us five years and a lot more money,” Desmond Parrington, the project manager for the City of Sacramento, explained.
The Memorial project is the only one under construction right now because it's the only one that's approved. The Community Center Theater and the Sac Convention Center will go before the City Council in September.
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