Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission Approves $5,500,000

for Schuster Performing Arts Center

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission approved $5,500,000 at its quarterly meeting yesterday for the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.

The state funds represent the final appropriation in a series to reimburse a portion of costs incurred in the construction of the Schuster Center in Dayton, which opened in March 2003. The Center includes the 2,300-seat Mead Theatre, a black box theater, the Performance Place office/condominium tower and Wintergarden. The $121 million project has received state appropriations totaling $36.25 million.

The Commission approval, coupled with the signing of legal agreements, allows the Schuster Center to be reimbursed for construction costs with funds appropriated in Am. Sub. H.B. 699 of the 126^th General Assembly. Montgomery County General Assembly members who voted in favor of the bill include Senators Jeff Jacobson and Tom Roberts, and Representatives Dixie Allen, Jon Husted, Arlene Setzer, Fred Strahorn, and John White.

The Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission is a state agency that helps enhance the quality of life for Ohioans by improving the state’s cultural facilities. Since 1988, the Commission has disbursed nearly $400 million of capital funds appropriated by the legislature and Governor for facility improvement projects at non-profit theaters, museums, historical sites and publicly owned professional sports venues. The Commission partners with non-profit groups and local governments on nearly 250 projects in 65 of Ohio’s 88 counties. For more information on the Commission, visit www.culture.ohio.gov.

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