Anchorage administration proposes 18-month extension, $1 million increase for Alaska Center for the Performing Arts; funding plan would reassign surcharge and M

Municipal administration told the Anchorage Assembly at a work session that it plans to seek assembly approval to extend the management agreement with the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts through June 30, 2027, increase the management fee for calendar year 2026 to about $2.687 million and fund the increase through a mix of ticket surcharge revenues, reprogrammed tourism-related bed taxes and Municipal Light & Power (MLP) proceeds used to retire a 2005 roof bond.

Why it matters: The administration said the package is designed to keep the Performing Arts Center (PAC) operating through a transitional 18-month period while the city and the PAC explore a longer-term, sustainable operating model. Without additional funding, staff warned the facility could face operational shortfalls tied to higher post‑COVID costs and an expensive Broadway production presented in 2023 that materially increased expenses.

At the work session Chief Administrative Officer Bill Fawzi and venues director Renee Stewart reviewed the proposal and the PAC’s audited financial history. Fawzi told the Assembly the current contract—executed in 2015 and otherwise set to expire at the end of the year—would be extended to June 30, 2027, and that the proposed management fee would rise by roughly $1 million for 2026 (to $2,687,502.74) and be reduced to $1,343,751.37…