Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra unveils renovation plans for century-old Pantages theatre

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 7:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has released the plan plans for what it hopes volition go a caller location for immoderate of its performances.

The orchestra, which rents its existent show abstraction astatine the 2,300-seat Centennial Concert Hall successful the city's Exchange District, is looking to determination crossed the thoroughfare to the presently closed Pantages Playhouse theatre, astatine the corner of Main Street and Market Avenue.

The WSO said successful a merchandise Tuesday arsenic portion of a semipermanent statement arsenic the theatre's "managing tenant," it plans to rehearse and execute galore of its programs in the restored venue, which volition person astir 1,100 seats.

"The full signifier country volition person some the acoustic aspects for … orchestral concerts, but also, like, soft-seat concerts of people and blues and roots groups and jazz," WSO executive manager Angela Birdsell said successful an interrogation with CBC Radio's Up to Speed.

"It is going to beryllium a spectacular, intelligent-focused marrying of this beloved, historical venue with each of the amenities of a 1,080-seat venue that we bash not person successful the city."

The orchestra has agelong said the acoustical ammunition astatine the Centennial Concert Hall is successful hopeless request of an upgrade.

The caller plan plans, led by Number Ten Architectural Group, progressive moving with theatre plan and acoustic experts, arsenic good arsenic integer and audio-video consultants "with acquisition transforming vaudeville-era theatres into modernized venues," the WSO's quality merchandise said.

"You don't person to emotion the orchestra to beryllium excited astir this project, due to the fact that it's hard to find radical that don't person a communicative astir Pantages," Birdsell said.

"There are truthful galore millions of stories retired determination that radical person of an acquisition successful this unthinkable hall.… I stake you determination are a batch of first-date stories."

Pantages Playhouse, which opened successful 1914, was erstwhile an important halt for vaudeville performers. Buster Keaton, Ella Fitzgerald and Stan Laurel are among the stars who tread the boards astatine the theatre, which was named a National Historic Site of Canada successful 1989.

It closed successful 2018, and a plan squad began moving connected the gathering successful 2023, the WSO's Tuesday quality merchandise said.

The symphony said it inactive expects to execute immoderate of its bigger concerts astatine the Centennial Concert Hall.

Project to cost $55-$60M

The Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg, a charitable organization, assumed work for the management of Pantages in February 1998, until the city agreed to sell it for $530,000 to 2 businessmen successful 2019.

That archetypal woody had to beryllium renegotiated successful 2020 due to the fact that of a snafu involving the extortion of a monument to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike in beforehand of the theatre, and successful July of that year, the metropolis said the owners had agreed to sell Pantages for $1 to the consortium, which promised to raise $10-$15 cardinal to reconstruct it and instal a absorption squad to run it.

The estimated outgo for the task is present between $55-$60 million.

The WSO said it and the show consortium person been moving with each 3 levels of authorities to rise astir fractional of the funds needed for the renovation, with the remainder to beryllium raised from the backstage sector.

The metropolis allocated $87,000 for superior renovations astatine the theatre in 2024, with an further $250,000 allocated annually for 2025-27 arsenic portion of a money to fortify the city's creation assemblage and the downtown.

Nearly $15 cardinal has been raised successful backstage commitments so far, Birdsell said.

"We person applications retired with the national authorities and we're moving with the provincial government," she said. "We perfectly request governments to measurement up and assistance america with this project. It is simply a acquisition to this state and to the radical successful this city."

Tuesday's announcement did not see immoderate timelines, but Birdsell has antecedently said it's unlikely the theatre volition reopen earlier 2028.