Hosts well over 100 events annually including Jay Leno, Beach Boys, Chris Botti, Soctty McCreety and special school matinees for 10,897 children; too bad Verde Valley
The Community College reported at the November 2018 meeting that the Performing Arts Center hosts over 100 events per year. Some of the programs it recently hosted included: Jay Leno, the Ten Tenors, the Beach Boys, Chris Botti, Scotty McCreery, the Texas Tenors, and New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players’ The Pirates of Penzance. And many, many more. There were school matinees in 2017-2018 for 10,897 children on the west side of the County. There were 1,608 children, according to the College, who attended a matinee program in the Verde Valley.
The Performing Arts Center on the Prescott campus was built and significantly upgraded with the help of Verde Valley property tax revenue. From the Blog’s perspective, it was built and upgraded primary for the benefit of the retirees in the Prescott/Prescott Valley area. Neither the city of Prescott nor the town of Prescott Valley could afford to build and support such a facility. Recall that Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, which held events similar to those now run by the College, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015. Only the College, with its constant stream of tax support via primary and secondary taxes plus bonding authority, had the available money to put into such a structure and subsidize its annual maintenance and operation.
A few persons from the Verde Valley attend the events at the Center, however, the overwhelming audiences appear to consist of appreciative retired Prescott area folks.