𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 $𝟐𝟏𝟏𝐌 𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Across B.C. and Canada, new large standalone performing arts centre builds are very rare—and that’s not a coincidence.

PACs are extremely expensive and typically depend on significant external funding—government grants, private donations, and major fundraising campaigns.

Without that funding in place, projects are often delayed, scaled back, or cancelled. In today’s environment, construction costs have risen sharply, grants are limited and competitive, governments are trimming funding, and corporate donations are harder to secure.

As a result, cities are trying to avoid raising taxes and are cautious about taking on large-scale capital projects that risk becoming “white elephants” requiring decades of borrowing and ongoing operating subsidies.

𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞.

The City calls the PAC “fully funded” and says it’s “designed to avoid additional borrowing or tax increases.”

But the numbers tell a different story:

𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ~𝟖𝟔.𝟔% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 $𝟐𝟏𝟏𝐌 𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭.

𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 ~𝟏𝟑.𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐠:

• $140M (66%) Debt: repaid by taxpayers with interest over ~30 years
• $29.6M (14%) Reserves: savings now being drawn down to fund the PAC
• $15.5M (7%) Future Reserves: money not yet collected from taxpayers
• $13M (6%) “Existing Funds Reallocation”: public money now being redirected from other planned uses
• $8.4M (4%) Grants: external funding *
• $20M (9.5%) Fundraising: contribution expected from donors *

The arts community has advocated for a PAC since prior to 2015, and the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society was formed in 2019, citing fundraising as part of its ongoing role.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲?

Kelowna’s long-proposed PAC—brought to City Council by its Performing Arts Centre Task Force—aims to rely on roughly 66% of its funding from grants and fundraising. Though still in early planning stages and not yet approved by residents, it reflects a key principle:

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐝-𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭.

Why did Kamloops set such a low fundraising target? Was it set abnormally low to make it easier to hit—so the project can be called “fully funded,” even though taxpayers are covering almost everything?

𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭—𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.

That’s not normal. And it’s not reasonable.

There is a motion coming to City Council on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 to pause the PAC and Multiplex for review before moving forward.

If you support taking a closer look before committing to this level of taxpayer funding, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨: citycouncil@kamloops.ca