About Us
Las Vegas is poised to make the leap from popular tourist destination to one of the nation’s leading cosmopolitan hubs. Central to this transformation is the building of a major cultural center: The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. Raising Las Vegas to new heights, The Smith Center will enhance our city’s reputation as the premier place to live, work, and raise a family.
Upon completion, The Smith Center will place Las Vegas on the world stage for performing arts, attracting world-class artistry, diverse productions, and a highly-skilled workforce. It will also bring together our entire community, fostering our children’s talent and creative ability to soar to new heights.
Centrally located in downtown’s 61-acre Union Park, the $475 million four-theatre complex will create vibrancy, acting as a dynamic economic engine, adding new jobs to the market, and continuing to diversify our local economy. Patrons of The Smith Center will activate the streets of Union Park, driving traffic to nearby restaurants and retail establishments.
The Smith Center will offer a blend of performances by local arts groups as well as first-run touring attractions. It will feature music, theatre, and dance companies from all over the world, and will be home to the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre.
Considerable groundwork has already been laid with unique public and private partnerships. The City of Las Vegas has provided the land, infrastructure, and parking for the facility. In addition, the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, and State Legislature collaborated on a car rental fee which will result in a bond of at least $125 million.
Our private funding campaign was launched by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation with a landmark gift of $50 million in 2005, in honor of their chairman, Fred W. Smith, and his wife, Mary. Since then, The Reynolds Foundation has continued their generosity, pledging an additional $100 million challenge grant. This gift is the largest philanthropic donation in state history, and combined with their initial contribution, makes for the second largest donation to the performing arts in the United States.
The generosity of our founding donors will create a human infrastructure for The Smith Center to bring the glory of the arts to generations of Las Vegans. We look forward to a triumphant opening where thousands will celebrate an organization that will inspire, foster, and nurture our community’s soul for years to come.
