Press Release
From: Valley VOTE

Date: 2/17/04


Valley VOTE Press Release - Performing Arts Center at CSUN

The Board of Directors of Valley VOTE has voted
overwhelmingly in favor of the following motion in
support of the Performing Arts Center planned for the
campus of California State University Northridge


Valley VOTE strongly supports the planned development of the
Performing Arts Center on the campus of the California State
University Northridge. Valley VOTE will encourage this project
by educating the San Fernando Valley residential and business
communities to the needs and benefits of such a facility. Valley
VOTE will support a coalition of community and business leaders
dedicated to the effort to raise the funds necessary to complete
the planned development of the Performing Arts Center.

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The Performing Arts Centerpiece of the SFV

The Cultural Affairs Committee of Valley VOTE would like to offer up the following discussion in support of the San Fernando Valley Performing Arts Center project at California State University, Northridge:
Whereas a community the size of the San Fernando Valley (SFV), having greater than 1.4 million diverse people and potentially the sixth largest city in the country, we are currently without a significant Valley-based performing arts center to address the needs of our community, with the exception of some small community theaters. We have become one of the most severely under-served for cultural opportunities for a city of our size. To experience the excitement of a Broadway-caliber production or a symphony orchestra, Valley residents must now travel to Hollywood, the Westside, or downtown. This puts the performing arts out of reach for many, including countless children. Mostly, we have become dependent on the resources found "over the hill" in the City of Los Angeles and have failed to develop our own unique sense of "Valley" culture.

To address this cultural shortfall and to fill this void, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), who already serves the SFV community with some level of cultural and educational services and programming, is undertaking a project to build on their campus a major Performing Arts Center (PAC). The PAC could become the much needed cultural arts center for the SFV, reflecting the richness and diversity of the Valley, expanding the economy, forging community partnerships, supporting key local industries, creating a greater sense of community, and entertaining, educating, and enriching the lives of the entire community.

The PAC would offer unique educational, economical, and cultural opportunities for the people and the business communities of the SFV. The PAC would be an educational training ground and performance center for young talent and artists of tomorrow, preparing them for careers in the performing arts, attracting world-class talent. In addition to classes for the university students, it would provide pre-performance lectures for the community and a partnership with K - 12 education. The PAC would provide combined traditional arts training with interdisciplinary programming in digital technology, sound design, arts management, facility management, arts marketing, providing students with the important skills required in the entertainment industry today. And finally, it will create a performing arts landmark of lasting significance, elegance, and pride for the Valley.

The proposed PAC would be located near the corner of Nordhoff Street and Lindley Avenue. The PAC facility will utilize state-of-the-art design and components, featuring a technologically and acoustically superior, 1,600-seat performance hall built to host full-scale professional orchestral and theatrical performances. The PAC will also be home to KCSN-FM and include a 250-seat flexible theater, as well as two rehearsal spaces reflecting the size of the two main stages, and lecture, laboratory, and classroom spaces.

The PAC is currently in the Phase I of its development, with planned construction still a few years away. The land is dedicated and ready. A new parking structure, to also serve the PAC is already planned for the southwest corner of the campus. Nearly half of the funding for the estimated $100 million center will come from state funds, with Proposition 55 (on the March ballot) earmarked to provide an initial $1.1 million of state funds to begin the project. Raising the additional matching funds of $50 million for this project is a high priority for CSUN.

In summary, whereas CSUN has a dream to build a world-class PAC in the SFV, it is an opportunity for all of us to support enhancing the artistic, cultural, and quality of life for millions of people of the Valley. By building these unique and exciting partnerships with CSUN, it will draw the community together, enriching the community, revitalizing its cultural and economical growth, and defining the Valley as a cultural destination benefiting both the university and the community.


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