Just when we were all getting accustomed to that acronym rolling off our tongues, the Dee Cee Pee Yay has gone and picked up a corporate sponsor that requires a name change. The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is no longer the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. It’s the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The Ay Tee Tee Pee Yay Cee? I’m guessing folks will just call it “The Pack” (for PAC). Anyway, the full release is after the jump. It doesn’t tell you the one thing we all want to know: how much was the deal worth?
Dallas Center for Performing Arts to Open as AT&T Performing Arts Center
Grand Opening to Feature Variety of Indoor and Outdoor Performances and Concerts Beginning Oct. 12 – Events are Free and Open to the Public
Dallas, Sept. 15, 2009—The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and AT&T* announced a naming agreement today for the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Opening Oct. 12, the Center will serve as a multi-venue arts and entertainment center for music, opera, theatre, dance and more, and will be equipped with cutting edge communications technology.
“Our relationship with AT&T, the global leader in communications, will place us at the forefront of the performing arts world in utilizing cutting edge technology to enhance our patronsÂ’ experiences at the Center,” said Mark Nerenhausen, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. “AT&T not only provides vital support that advances the CenterÂ’s educational, cultural and civic mission, but also frees us to focus our energies on programming, raising capital funds, building our endowment and raising funds toward programming and operations.
“AT&T’s involvement ensures that when the AT&T Performing Arts Center opens in October it will become a cornerstone of our cultural community and an economic and cultural catalyst for the region,” Nerenhausen said. “AT&T has a long tradition of supporting the communities in which it operates, and, on behalf of the people of North Texas, I would like to thank AT&T for continuing this tradition with its visionary support.”
The Center will be one of the most technologically advanced performing arts venues in the country, equipped with AT&T Wi-Fi service and complimentary Internet access to patrons. AT&T will also offer unique mobile applications to AT&T wireless subscribers.
The Center will mark its grand opening with a weeklong celebration beginning Oct.12, featuring a variety of indoor and outdoor performances, concerts and architecture forums that are free and open to the public, including a free outdoor concert featuring David Sanborn on Friday, Oct. 16. A special community open house called “Spotlight Sunday” will take place on Sunday, October 18th with free performances from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m in the Winspear Opera House and in the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Sammons Park. The Center is expected to offer a variety of free performances and concerts appealing to a broad audience throughout its seasons.
“We are honored to be a part of this incredible facility, which will serve people of many backgrounds and nationalities throughout the region,” said Cathy Coughlin, senior executive vice president and global marketing officer for AT&T. “Our commitment to innovation and desire to connect people to their passions is a perfect match with an organization that fosters the creation of new art and provides experiences which knit communities together. We look forward to seeing an increased participation in the arts in our new hometown, a place where many of our employees live, work, and contribute to the community.”
The Center will house the Winspear Opera House, the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, Annette Strauss Artist Square, City Performance Hall and the Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, a 10-acre park that unifies the venues. These facilities will provide state-of-the-art performance spaces for five resident companies: The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center, Texas Ballet Theater, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. TITAS, the Dallas presenter of the worldÂ’s most highly acclaimed touring music and dance companies, will also present its season at the Center. In addition, the Center will present the Lexus Broadway Series, JAZZ ROOTS, the Brinker International Forum, concerts, lectures, films and many other programs.
For more information on the AT&T Performing Arts Center, please visit www.attpac.org.
*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.
About the AT&T Performing Arts Center
The AT&T Performing Arts Center, a new multi-venue Center for music, opera, theatre and dance will open on October 12, 2009, completing the 25-year vision of the Dallas Arts District. The AT&T PAC will provide multi-state-of-the-art facilities woven together by an urban park covering more than 10 acres to create a dynamic cultural destination that will be unparalleled in the world. The AT&T PAC will feature the following:
• The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed by Foster + Partners
• The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas
• The new Annette Strauss Artist Square, also designed by Foster + Partners
• The City Performance Hall, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill
• The 10-acre Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park, designed by Michel Desvigne of Paris
For more information on the AT&T Performing Arts Center, please visit www.attpac.org.
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verseSM and AT&T ?DIRECTVSM brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T’s Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.
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