A rendering of the future Pantages Theatre from Market Avenue. (NUMBER TEN ARCHITECTURAL GROUP)
The Manitoba government is putting $15 million toward the restoration and renovation of the Pantages Playhouse Theatre, transforming the downtown Winnipeg landmark into a permanent home for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
The project is a collaboration between the Performing Arts Consortium of Winnipeg and the WSO. The renewed Pantages Playhouse Arts Centre, designed by Number TEN Architectural Group, will serve as a rehearsal, performance, educational, and administrative hub for the WSO while also accommodating community cultural groups and other professional performers.
Planned renovations include stage upgrades for orchestral and performing arts use, modern acoustic systems with digital capability, wider seating for improved audience comfort, updated backstage facilities, and new administrative offices for the WSO. Heritage elements of the Exchange District building will be restored alongside the contemporary upgrades.
“When we restore a building like this, we’re not just preserving bricks and mortar,” Premier Wab Kinew said on Tuesday. “We’re investing in the artists, the educators and the communities who will fill it with life. That’s good for downtown Winnipeg and good for the whole province.”
The renovated building will have roughly 1,100 seats and Curt Vossen, the orchestra’s board chair, says it will fill a gap in the range of venue sizes in Winnipeg.
Officials are hoping to open the revamped building in 2029 and are hoping to get $22 million from the federal government.
Watch Tuesday’s news conference:
— With files from The Canadian Press
