The Corporation of the PO Box 3012, 50 Church Street

City of St. Catharines St. Catharines, ON L2R 7C2 Tel: 905.688.5600 www.stcatharines.ca

News Release

New Performing Arts Centre designs take centre stage

Feb. 22, 2013 – The latest art exhibit in St. Catharines is heading downtown: new designs for the Performing Arts Centre are complete and will be unveiled at a public open house on Thursday, March 7 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. inside Market Square.

Updated renderings of the facility will be presented and representatives from the design team, the City and the Performing Arts Centre will be on-hand to speak with residents and answer questions about the new facility.

“We’re excited to unveil the new designs to the community,” says Steve Solski, Executive Director. “I truly believe people will be impressed with this facility.”

The new design is slated to go before council March 18 for approval. After council approves the design, the four pre-qualified bidders - Bird Construction; Carillion Construction; Ellis Don Construction; and Graham Construction and Engineering - will be invited to bid for the above grade construction on April 2. Council will award the contract May 27, with construction slated to begin in June.

The PAC will be built at the corner of St. Paul and Carlisle streets and will include four separate venues: a 775-seat concert hall, a theatre/dance venue with up to 210 seats, a 187-seat film theatre and a 300-seat recital hall.

The St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre is part of a joint project between the City of St. Catharines and Brock University to create an academic and cultural arts centre in Downtown St. Catharines. The initiative also includes creating a new home for the university’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in the former Canada Haircloth building.

For the latest news, follow the PAC on Twitter @StCathPAC or like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StCatharinesPerformingArtsCentre.

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Contact: Steve Solski Executive Director, Performing Arts Centre 905.682.7491 (office) 289.696.3431 (mobile)