See the newly restored Palm Springs Plaza Theatre
After two years of construction and restoration, the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre is ready to welcome audiences inside.
Three months after opening, tens of thousands of people have walked through the doors of the Plaza Theatre and millions of dollars in tickets have been sold.
The Plaza Theatre Foundation, a nonprofit which runs the theater on behalf of the city, celebrated 90 days of operation on Monday, March 2.
The much-anticipated renovation of the historic theater has gone better than expected, the foundation said in a news release. With sold-out shows and more customers than expected from out of the region, the foundation says the Plaza Theater has exceeded expectations.
“The shows have been selling out so fast,” said JR Roberts, a former Palm Springs city councilmember and president of the foundation told The Desert Sun. “That’s what’s been surprising us is how much people are craving this in Palm Springs.”
Ever since undergoing a two-year restoration costing $34 million, the Plaza Theatre has hosted 94 performances over 80 days of events. Nearly 46,000 people have attended, generating around $2.9 million in ticket sales.
A majority of the audience has come from outside the Palm Springs area. A total of 66% of guests come from outside the Coachella Valley.
The foundation had initially projected a roughly 50/50 split between customers who travel to see shows versus locals. They believe visitors are more economically beneficial because in addition to buying tickets, many also eat at restaurants, stay in hotels or both.
“The revenue that the city is generating from this is huge,” Roberts said. “The city is hugely benefiting from this on many levels.”
Since it opened, the Plaza Theatre has brought in marquee stars like Cynthia Erivo and Lily Tomlin, while also catering to more niche tastes and community acts like the Palm Springs Symphony. The foundation aims to provide a mix of large and small performers, even if those smaller performers do not bring in as much money.
Although — or perhaps because — many shows have sold out, conversations around the theater’s affordability have surfaced. Tickets to see Erivo exceeded $1,000, although that event was the opening night gala. Still, even smaller shows since the opening gala can seem expensive.
Available tickets for “The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes” on Saturday, March 7 range from $81 to $94.
Still the foundation actually subsidizes the cost of tickets to artificially lower what they would be at the true market rate. Despite earning millions from ticket sales, the theater is not expected to be profitable and the foundation continues to seek donations to keep the theater running.
“If the community is loving the theater, they need to support the theater. That’s the way we’re going to keep it open and successful,” Roberts said. “The foundation, which is all volunteer, is doing it for the community.”
General Manager John Bolton reported the monthly operational costs to be around $190,000.
Although it may seem like funds from ticket sales would cover the cost, revenue from sales is split between artists and the theater.
But beyond the theater’s profitability, the foundation points to an estimated $40 million economic impact expected to be felt in Palm Springs. Through tax revenue raised from increased shopping, dinning and hotel stays, the foundation says the theater is on track to bring $4 million in annual tax revenue to the city.
That would be a welcome boon to the city council, which fronted much of the money to pay for the renovation to the foundation. In 2023, the city agreed to put up $20 million for the renovations, with half to be repaid out of private donations to the theater’s foundation. The other $10 million won’t be directly repaid, but city officials said at the time they expect the investment to pay for itself through increased tax revenue.
“We are pleased to see that the Theatre’s economic impact is even greater than projected,” Palm Springs City Councilmember Jeffrey Bernstein said in the release, “and this will increase as the Theatre continues to provide year-round programing, even through the summer.”
Sam Morgen covers the city of Palm Springs for The Desert Sun. Reach him at [email protected].
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