The Arts in Richardson (Part 2)
July 2, 2024
Richardson Coalition Editorial
2024 – The Arts in Richardson (Part 2)
Richardson Has a Cultural Arts Master Plan!
With a population of around 120,000, Richardson, Texas is blessed with arts in every category, including paint, dance, music, theatre, sculpture and more.
Richardson has become a mecca for regional and international arts, especially for Dallas and Collin Counties. Ethnicities from all over the world are represented. Let’s evaluate how this investment in the Arts is benefiting our city.
The Eisemann Center has become THE regional venue for North Texas. Since opening 22 years ago:
- 3.4 million people have attended events at the Center.
- 8,799 events have been presented.
Positive Financial Impact for Residents
Eight years ago a study of the Center’s impact was performed by a third party consultant. Following are extrapolated estimates from that report. (These are straight projections without compound growth.)
· Just under $1 billion in new construction has been completed using the increased tax revenue from the investments from those businesses such as State Farm, Bank of America, etc. and the most recent, the Ovation.
· Economic impact projected for 2024 is expected to be more than $140 million.
· When asked why they invested in Richardson, corporate leaders responded that the city is business friendly and provides excellent quality of life opportunities for their employees.
· Thousands of new jobs have been created in our city, especially well-paying jobs. Many of the new employees have also chosen to purchase homes in our culturally friendly city.
The city issued $37.6 million in 20-year Certificates of Obligation to build the center and the final payoff was made on schedule before the 20th anniversary in 2022.
The bottom line for Richardson:
The Eisemann Center, coupled with the City’s support of the arts groups has proven to be an excellent investment for our city both in our quality of life and financially.
