While Fredericton's ambitious performing arts center was initially pitched as a modest $45 million venture back in 2018, it's blossomed into a financial fever dream that would make even the most zealous arts patron break into a cold sweat.
In what can only be described as a masterclass in budget acrobatics, the project's price tag has pirouetted its way to a staggering $111.2 million, leaving city officials to perform their own interpretive dance of explanations. The usual suspects – inflation and labor shortages – have been trotted out like tired understudies, while the ghost of the original $45 million estimate haunts the halls of City Hall. Grand Chief Ron Tremblay and members of the Wolastoqey Nation attended the groundbreaking ceremony to mark this significant milestone.
You'd think we were building the Sydney Opera House's long-lost Canadian cousin, but no – we're getting 71,741 square feet of new construction, complete with an 850-seat multipurpose theater and a 300-seat flexible space.
The funding partnership reads like a particularly optimistic bake sale committee: the feds are in for $46.6 million, the City of Fredericton's chipping in $22.6 million, and there's a rather ambitious $10 million community fundraising campaign that'll surely have local arts supporters checking their couch cushions.
The town of Oromocto, bless their hearts, has contributed a thoroughly symbolic $100,000 – roughly equivalent to the cost of the grand opening's cheese plate, given current inflation rates. Meanwhile, the sale of the current playhouse property is expected to bring in $2.3 million, which at this point might cover the cost of the doorknobs.
Construction is set to begin this fall at the corner of Regent and King streets, with completion targeted for late 2026 – though given the project's financial trajectory, don't be surprised if that date starts doing its own little dance across the calendar.
One thing's certain: when the curtain finally rises on this fiscal performance piece, Fredericton will have either the most expensive community theater in Atlantic Canada or the best-value opera house this side of the Mediterranean.
