W. Scott Bailey, Reporter/Project Coordinator
The Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation is seeking to raise $54 million in private funding to help transform Municipal Auditorium into the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
The nonprofit organization, which will own and operate the Tobin Center once construction is completed, has already raised more than $43 million and expects to hit secure the balance by the time the building opens in mid-September.
Roughly half of the funds for the $203 million project will come from a special venue tax approved by Bexar County taxpayers in 2008. However, the capital campaign contributions are critical. Those funds will help pay for a number of key upgrades, including a unique floor-seating system that is collapsible, allowing marketers to book a larger variety and number of events into the facility.
J. Bruce Bugg Jr., chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, says the organization will take ownership of the Tobin Center in May. Crews will then spend the next few months fine-tuning the building.
