The Anchorage Assembly will receive a briefing Friday afternoon on the $50 million in repairs that may be needed for the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, a downtown cultural hub that has suffered from decades of deferred maintenance.
The 2:10 pm presentation, prepared by ACPA, Inc. — the nonprofit that has operated the center since its opening in 1988 –warns that the PAC is facing escalating infrastructure failure, decades of underinvestment, and operational constraints that threaten its core functions, safety, and long-term viability.
Despite hosting between 150,000 and 250,000 patrons annually, supporting eight resident companies, and serving as an economic engine for downtown Anchorage, the PAC’s facility has not seen consistent capital investment from its municipal owner.
According to ACPA’s report, only a handful of improvements have been publicly funded over the decades, including a roof replacement in 2005 and a recently approved $1.8 million allocation for fire safety and elevator upgrades. The funds for that have yet to be fully deployed due to engineering and procurement delays.
Most of the PAC’s systems date back to its original 1988 construction and have surpassed their life expectancy. ACPA’s recent facility assessment, conducted with support from Stantec and Theatre Projects, identified $22.9 million in near-term repair needs, many of which are tied to life safety.
Among the most urgent concerns:
- An aging and partially defunct fire panel system.
- Freight and passenger elevators in danger of failure due to water intrusion in the piston shaft.
- Obsolete air handling and ventilation systems.
- Failing lighting, public address, and building control systems.
- A compromised building envelope with visible cracking and joint failures.
- A generator that is no longer functional.
ACPA staff are currently mitigating several of these issues manually, such as pumping water from the elevator shaft every few months due to piston corrosion, a stopgap measure the Municipality has reportedly agreed to monitor for failure rather than proactively resolve.
The center’s operating agreement with the Municipality dates to 1988, when ACPA was allocated a $1.175 million annual management fee. That amount has not kept pace with inflation, the ACPA says in its handout. Had it been adjusted each year, today’s fee would be over $3.3 million. Instead, the facility receives $1.58 million, leaving ACPA to shoulder the difference.
Despite limited resources, ACPA has launched multiple initiatives to sustain the PAC, including the creation of CenterTix in 2005 and a partnership with national Broadway promoter Nederlander in 2023. The Broadway Alaska program has generated revenue, but was paused earlier this year due to mounting operational challenges and the need to realign resources.
Broadway Alaska’s temporary suspension through the 2025–2026 season is not a termination of the program, the briefing clarifies. Instead, the pause allowed ACPA to address building deficiencies, stabilize finances, and renegotiate a sustainable management structure with the Municipality.
ACPA’s message to the Assembly is: Without immediate investment and a revised operating agreement, the PAC cannot continue to provide low-cost access for nonprofit and resident arts groups, support tourism and economic growth, or guarantee the safety and comfort of audiences and performers.
A follow-up presentation of Phase 1 assessment findings is scheduled for Aug. 4.
The meeting will be broadcast at the YouTubelink below.
Prior to this meeting, the Anchorage Assembly also scheduled a work session for 11:50 am: “Worksession Draft AR for Better Public Meetings Project.”
The most important issue, not addressed here, is the lack of handicapped accessibility. There current plan is two 15 minute spaces around the corner from Humpies on F Street. A person in a wheelchair has a hard time in good weather getting across 6th Ave to an event. In the winter ice humps build up on either sides of each of three lanes making crossing the street almost impossible. In the summer the Municipality leases out F Street from 6th to 7th for events taking away what little access there is.
The Town Square Park is undergoing renovation planning. To me, it is criminal that Handicapped Accessibility for the PAC is not included. Both are Municipal assets.
Thank you Tom for speaking out on this particular situation. You are correct.
Hopefully this can be dealt with this time around.
The building has millions in deferred maintenance because core systems are failing that affect everyone that uses the facility.
Activists: “I know. Lets spend the roof and ventilation repair money on expensive renovations to accommodate 1% of the population!”
Delusional nonsense, you must be friends with Chris Constant.
The assembly and offices of the mayor need to look to grants to take care of his problem. Not taxes.
Yes look for federal government infrastructure monies. There already srewing us by increasing two port taxes that’s why nothing went down
I smell another sizeable bond proposal in the making. Snicker!
I question the financial management of the PAC. Seems like the revenue generated over the years should have gone to maintenance costs, instead of relying upon the taxpayers to subsidize the building. That’s how things work in the real world, so why don’t they work that way for the PAC?
That building is a poorly designed, poorly sited white elephant at this point.
The generator is probably just fine, if they got someone to fix it that actually knew what the hell they were doing. Too often, these backup systems are being yarded out of municipal and ASD building simply because the people that are working on them are completely ignorant on how to repair them. As to the spending of $50 million to repair a building that isn’t used that much is another discussion. Between the Denaina, Egan, Sullivan, Alaska Airlines Center and PAC, this city needs to get back to using the most universal buildings and stop throwing millions at all these different venues. For a city of 500,000, we need to start operating on a realistic budget instead of screwing the property owners every year for pie in the sky BS for a few of the population.
Anchorage has 283,000 people.
If you include the Valley, add another 110,000.
We have the money it’s being misallocated.
How many hundreds of millions of $’s have we spent on shoplifting, drug addict, alcoholic homeless people?…
It’s cheaper to tear it down and make space for a homeless camp.
Touché!
Use it as a homeless camp
Remember what happened to the SuperDome when it was used as a shelter after Katrina? Or the Sullivan after the Assembly turned it into a homeless shelter for a few years? Cheers –
Not just the Superdome,the original, the Astrodome, s was never used again after being used to shelter Katrina evacuees. It sits empty even now. They’re still arguing over whet to do withit
Go see your wealthy donors and patrons list for $$$. Money should come from people who use the facility, not always just make real property/homeowners pay.
Good grief, it sounds like it should be condemned! I remember when it was first built! Hard to believe there is that much deferred maintenance.
Why did they wait all these yrs to ask for help now we’re all gonna get screwed for one lump sum
$50 million dollars? I am sure we have more pressing matters that need funding than the opera house for low grade Anchorage entertainment.
Original cost estimate was $45 million to build. Cost overruns led to a final cost of $71 million. (According to SAH Archipedia)
Just get a hold of the Queen of Pork – Lisa Murkowski. A big fat federal appropriation would make the Senator’s core constituency very happy.
Convert it to a homeless facility. They can still have their events there and will enjoy larger audiences.
There isn’t a million in this State.
I think this thing needs to be sold.
$50.00 + Per capita, and very few of us ever go there.
Mayor Tony’s Taj Mahal is crumbling around us. Ironic. The PAC from wear at tear. Our community from taking a blind eye to crime, homelessness run amok and lack of will to improve the business climate in this city. Decades of liberal assemblies create decades of chaos and decay.
The city should focus on core services, such as fire, police, and parks, and let a private organization take care of the performing arts center. Sell the facility to an organization, corporation, or foundation that can handle the expenditures. Start a major fundraising campaign, leaning heavy on corporate giving and grant writing if you don’t want to sell. Get some marketing interns and new directors to add input and energy.
The last time I attended a beautiful concert at the PAC I parked in the closest lot. I was afraid to get out of my car because of the huge fight going on at the bus station across the street with the police involved. That was several years ago, around 2020. I have not attended an event there since then. These days, I avoid going to Anchorage for any reason because I no longer feel safe. Why should a new bond proposal and an associated tax levy support that kind of experience! Clean it up Mayor and ASSembly before you propose another bond to fix the issues of the broken Taj Mahal.
Exactly. I went to the PAC once and only because someone else went with me. I don’t want to go downtown by myself at night, concerned about what may happen after the show. I enjoy live theater regularly in the valley. There is plenty of free parking and no “drama” outside of the facility.
Not feeling comfortable coming downtown coupled with limited parking is a huge problem. Just went to the theater at Mat Su College, plenty of parking and non threatening atmosphere. The recent shooting at the Gaslight lounge is not a plus. Downtown just feels dead whereas South Anchorage feels like the area to have dinner.
If this was a Kriner’s Diner or a church, Peoples’ Code Enforcers would’ve shut it down already.
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But they didn’t. So, either the problems are no big deal, or they are a big deal but Peoples’ Code Enforcers were ordered to leave it alone.
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Who wants to risk life and limb to find out? Bums don’t get you, falling down public buildings will …that’s just the state of things downtown?
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Mark our words, $50M is where it starts. Add the many possible forms of construction fraud, throw in lack of oversight, due diligence, and plain old alertness, bill should top $200M in no time. Put a big rush on it, it’ll be more.
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Nothing wrong with that a ten or twelve percent sales tax won’t fix.
Why not just convert part of the (almost always empty) Denaina center into the new performing art center? Seriously, that was a massive boondoggle on the part of Begich and his real estate development friends. It has to be cheaper than rebuilding the PAC.
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And, again a reminder to all.
This administration had to float bonds to purchase needed Police and Firefighter equipment, but always seems to have plenty for the homeless. If they just let the homeless go without any handouts for a year, the PAC could get the most important repairs made.
Exactly.
We have the money.
It’s being misallocated towards undeserving druggies, buns, and illegals.
Let us start by cancelling LaFrance’s Fairview bus service to nowhere. That’s $75,000 of wasted money for a situation LaFrance and her ilk created in the first place.
Where are the elite benefactors, professionals like lawyers, doctors, and educators to subsidize their cultural, arts, and performance center?
What steps have the PAC administrators and managers taken to raise funds?
As a former Commissioner on the former mayors Public Facilities Advisory Commission (PFAC), an investigation into the management of the PAC.
The Assembly must not use taxpayer dollars until there is a management assessment, comprehensive plan for raising funds, and possible liquidation of this asset.
Wow! Bet the assembly will do just what they did with our landmark 4th Ave. Theater: let it crumble, then sell the land to the Chinese!
So sad to see the 4th Avenue Theater go. My late husband and I had our second date there. The first one was a fun time at Center Bowl when he tried to teach me to bowl. I never got the hang of it
Whoever thinks there won’t be millions in
cost over runs………. I’ve got some swamp
land on the moon I want to sell you!
Also, if and when they rebuild the PAC
the “park” next to the PAC should be turned into
parking for the handicapped.
The PAC does need to be renovated. Its a wonderful place to see a show. Most who commented dont attend so their opinion is mute. Others are just complaining because they complain about anything. The real facts are that this is culture. You want Anchorage to come back from the slums, you have to grab the attention of tourists. Bring in things in that they would enjoy. This town needs the revenue that it brings. Stop complaining about money. Yes. Its gonna cost a fortune, but EVERYTHING costs a fortune these days! In case none of you realized, inflation has been out of control for these last 4 years. It will never go back to the way it was. You will need to start getting used to seeing these numbers. Its time to INVEST in this town and not the pockets of our representatives, school board, or homelessness. Change starts at home. Make Anchorage your home again and let’s make it better!
“The real facts are that this is culture.”
Please explain to all of us why taxpayers should foot the bill for “culture?”
Take your time, I will wait.
What would happen if this was a business in the private sector? That’s exactly what should happen here.
Agree! What happens when the takers outnumber the producers? I’m not a fan of Ayn Rand, but I understood the premises of the novel “Atlas Shrugged” after I read it three times over the years.
Thousands of pot holes need to be filled.