Spokane Valley Summer Theatre receives over $1 million in donations for rent, construction on new center

Two donors gave a boost to Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, paying for next season’s operations costs and helping it inch closer to funding a permanent home.

Brent Wise, finance and construction consultant for SVST, said the funds from the donors, who wish to remain anonymous, will keep the summer theater operating in the Central Valley School District facility .

The theater’s rent has increased by 500% in the past year, according to a release.

Rent to use the facility at CVSD next year is around $120,000, Wise said. One donor donated $250,000, which will cover the theater’s costs for next season, Wise said. The other donor committed $1 million to SVST’s new center.

SVST is hoping to be in its new location, the Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center, 13609 E. Mansfield Ave., in time for the 2027 season. Construction on the center started in August 2022 but halted due to lack of funds.

SVST currently has $4.4 million committed but will need $14 million to continue construction, Wise said.

“Once we have that, we can ideally finance the rest and begin construction again on the performing arts center,” Wise said.

Just over $18.3 million has been raised to fund the new center, Wise said. Of that money, a little over $13 million has been spent on construction. The facility is 19% completed.

The theater opened in 2016, and since then, costs have increased by 312%, Wise said. Enrollment in conservatory camps has grown each year by around 40%, and season ticket sales increased by 64% from 2022 to 2023, Wise said.

According to the center’s website, when the facility is finished, it’s predicted to generate $32 million each year. The goal is for the center to be built and ready for its first theater production by the end of 2026. That can happen if SVST can find donors to commit $14 million to the new center by September, Wise said.

The center is predicted to cost $48 million and be 59,000 square feet, with more than 463 seats at the main stage, 220 seats in a studio theater and an acting conservatory area, Wise said. The lot will have 300 parking spaces.

“It’s not just an asset for Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, it’s a true asset for the entire area,” Wise said.

As Spokane Valley has grown, so has Central Valley School District, which after this year will not have capacity for SVST to operate, Wise said.

“The school district’s been a great community partner,” Wise said. “Over time, things change, and that just makes it more pressing: We’ve got to get our own facility.”

According to Wise, the summer theater has grown substantially over the years, both in popularity and local theater professionals. Hundreds of young people ages 8 through 18 have benefited from the acting conservatory camps the theater puts on each summer. This year, the theater is showing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” until Aug. 17.

SVST is always accepting donations, which can be made online at svsummertheatre.com/donate.