Expanding Arts in Orange County : Performing Arts Center

With the Orange County Performing Arts Center operating near capacity two years ahead of projections, the Center board has moved ahead with plans to add at least two new theaters at an estimated cost of up to $92 million.

The proposal includes a concert hall of 2,300 to 2,500 seats and a drama theater of 650 to 800 seats, possibly to be shared with neighboring South Coast Repertory Theatre.

Like the $73-million Center, the additional theaters would be privately funded if possible, officials said.

“Both a concert hall and a small hall are justifiable in the next decade, subject, of course, to the one caveat that we can afford to proceed and the determination of a prudent timetable,” said Center Chairman Henry T. Segerstrom in a statement relayed by Center President Thomas R. Kendrick.

The board’s decision Thursday to proceed with plans to expand the Center was partially based on a $50,000, eight-month marketing study. After voting to accept and approve the study, members authorized management to do feasibility studies on site selection, design, parking and funding for the two theaters plus a possible third, mid-size facility of 1,200 to 1,500 seats.

Should the board decide to proceed with all three theaters, the cost could go as high as $119 million and the resulting Center-SCR complex could do for Orange County arts what nearby South Coast Plaza mall did for retailing.

The most pressing need is to proceed with the concert hall to preempt construction of another major theater in the area for such popular attractions as national companies of Broadway shows, Kendrick said.

“There is only so much touring product,” he said.

The concert hall, used by the Santa Ana-based Pacific Symphony and for single-performance musical events, would free Segerstrom Hall for popular shows that require extended runs. The new hall, he said, would be “essentially a shoe box,” designed solely for music and dance events without elaborate sets.

In a news conference after the board meeting, Kendrick said the board’s first priority would be to find a site for the concert hall. It has ruled out any remote site for new facilities.

The long-range plans for the Center have always included the addition of a second theater for such programs as chamber music recitals and dramatic performances. One location considered for this smaller theater is land adjoining the Center now used for staff parking. That site, the study found, is too small to accommodate either the concert hall or a mid-size theater.