Marcus Center Seeks Extended County Support

Marcus Performing Arts Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The Marcus Performing Arts Center (MPAC) is seeking a new agreement with Milwaukee County that will extend its public support until 2030, providing the institution more time to become self-sustaining.

The center, located at 929 N. Water, is owned by the county and leased to MPAC, which is in charge of operations and even funds much of the maintenance. In 2016, the county and MPAC negotiated an off-ramp to eventually make the center privately owned and funded, with a gradual stepping down of taxpayer support. County support was supposed to end in 2025, but, due to some circumstances that aren’t entirely within MPAC’s control, the center isn’t ready to stand on its own.

First, the COVID-19 pandemic closed the center for 18 months, then in 2021 the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra left the facility for its new orchestra hall, taking $1 million in annual revenue with it. When the new CEO Kevin Giglinto took over in 2023, he found an organization struggling with annual budget deficits and spending down its annual cash reserves, which are on track to be completely depleted by the end of this summer.

Last year, Giglinto wrote a letter to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors explaining that the institution needed to preserve its funding relationship with the county for a bit longer, as it transitioned to self-sufficiency. This month supervisors will vote on an amendment to the plan that continues providing operating support to MPAC, slowly stepping it down until 2030. In total, between operational support and infrastructure costs, taxpayers would provide an additional $3.3 million between now and then.

“I believe we can come up with a plan in that period of time that will leave us completely self sustainable,” Giglinto told Urban Milwaukee.

For more than a decade now, the county has been restructuring its relationship with various cultural institutions. In some cases, the institution is driving the change, as in the case of the Milwaukee Public Museum. Last year the county negotiated a deal severing, and privatizing, the Charles Allis and Villa Terrace Museums.

Despite seeking an extension, MPAC is also already seeing improvement in its long-term financial outlook, Giglinto told Urban Milwaukee. For starters, after he stepped into the role, MPAC has launched an annual fundraising program, asking audience members and season ticket holders to donate.

“The frequency of attendance has a very high correlation with the likelihood of someone to give,” Giglinto said. “And if you make a compelling ask, that points to the impact you’re having, the kind of support you need, people do step up and they support you.”

The next biggest source of revenue growth comes from Broadway. After losing the Milwaukee Symphony, the organization has sought to bring more Broadway road shows to the Marcus Center, and that has driven a “meaningful increase” in revenue, Giglinto said.

More than half of the audience for these shows is coming from outside of Milwaukee County, and a significant percent are coming from Cook County, Illinois, Giglinto said, meaning from the Chicago area.

MPAC has worked out a deal with the county for extended operating support that would provide $450,000 each year in 2026 and 2027, $400,000 in 2028 and $225,000 each year in 2029 and 2030. It would also provide a $2.3 million in funding for infrastructure needs and maintenance by 2028.

The Marcus Center is approximately 56 years old. It was built in 1969 with private funding and deeded to the county to be held in public trust. During the past decade, the county has provided approximately $10 million in funding for infrastructure and maintenance at the building. During that same period, MPAC has invested approximately $16 million, Giglinto said.

Giglinto said he understands the competing needs placed on the limited resources the county has, but said he thinks the proposal is “incredibly reasonable” when considering the economic impact of the Marcus Center compared to the gradual step-down of taxpayer support over the next five years.

If county policymakers, ultimately, don’t approve the deal, “that would force some pretty difficult choices,” Giglinto said.

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