DEPARTMENT HEAD: Lori Houston
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT:
Funding Agreement with the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation in the amount of $368,400.00 to support the San Antonio Symphony
SUMMARY:
This ordinance authorizes a funding agreement with the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation (Tobin Center) in the amount of $368,400. The funding will be used to cover expenses associated with the support and production services that the Tobin provides to the San Antonio Symphony. The Symphony Society of San Antonio supports this item.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Fiscal Year 2018 Budget approved $614,000 for the San Antonio Symphony. The funding was awarded through the City's competitive arts funding process for Fiscal Year's 2017 and 2018. The funding agreement for Fiscal Year 2018 was with Symphonic Music for San Antonio (SMSA), which was created in July of 2017. SMSA was managing the Symphony on behalf of the Symphony Society of San Antonio (SSSA) in an effort to restructure and rebrand the organizations. In December 2017, SMSA and SSSA announced they were no longer working on a transition.
Per the funding agreement with SMSA, 40% or $245,600 was disbursed in the Fall, and 50% was to be disbursed in January 2018 and the remaining 10% in June 2018. SSSA has indicated they would like to continue the season and has requested the remaining $368,400 in funding.
ISSUE:
SSSA has requested that the City provide them the $368,400 in remaining funds that are budgeted. Staff has reviewed their budget and the schedule for the rest of the season. The budget for the proposed season is $3.6 million. The majority of their revenue is from advanced ticket sales, projected ticket sales and pledges.
The City of San Antonio is supportive of the San Antonio Symphony and wants the 2018 season to continue. Based on the draft schedule that SSSA provided, they will produce 13 concerts and cont...
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