Symphony Faces Tight Deadline Group Must Raise $764,000 In Two Weeks To Buy The Fox

The Spokane Symphony has just two weeks to raise $764,000 to buy the Fox Theater or the deal may be in jeopardy.

Symphony Treasurer Bill Simer said he is optimistic but concerned about the tight deadline.

“We know there are a lot more people out there who support this, and we need to hear from them,” Simer said.

The group has raised just a third of the $1.2 million purchase price agreed on with Fox Theater owner Regal Cinemas. The $436,000 raised includes a $230,000 state Building for the Arts grant.

The symphony needs to raise the full amount before Sept. 15, the date the sale is to be finalized.

About half of those who have donated are not regular symphony subscribers, a fact that Simer said illustrates the project’s appeal to the entire community.

The art deco theater was built in 1931 for $1 million. In 1975, it was converted to a triplex, and in 1989, it became a discount movie house.

If the Fox restoration project succeeds, the theater would be used for dance performances, concerts, meetings and other events in addition to symphony concerts.

Spokane fund-raising consultant Kent Adams said the symphony isn’t facing an impossible task, but it is a difficult one to accomplish in such a short time.

A number of factors complicate the group’s fund-raising efforts, he said.

“We’ve come off from the last three to four years with $100 million of capital projects,” said Adams, naming the new Valley YMCA, St. George’s School, Gonzaga Prep and the Centennial Trail as examples of projects for which substantial sums have been raised over the past few years. Many individuals and corporations, he said, still are paying off pledges for those and other projects.

Adams said one group he was working for was turned down recently by some of the community’s best donors for that reason.

In addition, a major fund-raising source for arts-related projects - the Comstock Foundation - was liquidated last year.

“Three years ago, the symphony could have asked for a lead gift (from the Comstock Foundation) and gotten it,” Adams said.

“That’s not to say that they can’t raise the money if they can tap the right person, organization or entity to see the value in it,” he said. “Sometimes it just takes a few people like that.”

Simer said it still is possible a single donor could make a large contribution to make up the difference if the symphony can raise another $300,000 or more in community donations. But Simer added that Fox supporters shouldn’t count on an angel donor.

He encouraged people to donate at the $500 “seat” level - the amount needed per seat to restore the Fox. Each person who donates at that level or higher will be recognized in perpetuity on a plaque in the Fox’s lobby.

“I think there are 1,400 people out there who can do this,” he said. “I just hope they do it before our deadline.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: DETAILS Save the Fox fund

Donations may be made to the Spokane Symphony’s Save the Fox fund by calling (509) 458-5923 or (509) 326-3136. Donations also will be accepted at the symphony’s concerts in Comstock Park at 6 p.m. Monday and Shadle Park at 6 p.m. Thursday. The group also staffs a table daily in River Park Square’s atrium. Donations are tax-deductible.