ATC selling naming rights to Tucson theater spaces

Arizona Theatre Company is selling the naming rights to the lounge of its longtime Tucson home at downtown’s Temple of Music and Art.

It’ll cost $525,000, which can be paid over three years, and the donor’s name/business will be on the space for 10 years.

For less than half that price, $225,000, a company or individual can get their name on the balcony; $150,000 gets you the green room, while $75,000 lands your name on the sound booth in the Alice Holsclaw Theatre.

In all, the statewide theater company is hoping to sell the naming rights to 11 spaces at the Temple of Music and Art and the box office at Tempe Center for the Arts, where it has been mounting performances since 2023.

The naming initiative, which could raise as much as $2 million, is part of the company’s $6 million Rise Above fundraising campaign launched in March. The campaign already brought in $3 million largely through the Board of Trustees, according to ATC Artistic and Executive Director Matt August.

The campaign also got a big push earlier this week when the Hillman Foundation announced it would match $1 for every $2 raised from new or increased individual gifts up to $300,000.

“The Hillman challenge adds new momentum to our efforts with opportunities for increased engagement from the community, which will propel us to our goal and preserve ATC’s legacy as an indelible part of Arizona’s vibrant arts and culture scene,” Pat Engels, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in a written news release.

Selling naming rights has become a lucrative fundraising opportunity for arts organizations, including the Tucson Museum of Art, which raised $1 million in 2017 through selling naming rights of its galleries.

James J. and Louise R. Glasser kicked off the Tucson Museum of Art initiative with a $500,000 donation that landed their name on the exhibition gallery; several other donors paid between $100,000 and $250,000.

ATC has long sold naming rights to some of its 623 seats in the Alice Holsclaw Theatre, but this is its most expansive naming rights initiative to date, ATC officials said.

The list of naming opportunities includes the prop and carpentry shops, the rehearsal hall, production office and courtyard fountain for $150,000 each; the lobby for $225,000; and $300,000 for ATC’s corporate facility on South Country Club Road.

The company is also renaming its Tucson campus at 330 S. Scott Ave. after one of its staunchest supporters, the Kasser Family. The gesture is a thank you to the family for its contributions to ATC, including endowing August’s position.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

ATC spokeswoman Marina Nelson said ATC is working with a sign maker and the city of Tucson, which owns the building, and hopes to have the sign amended in the fall before its season-opening production “Deceived” on Sept. 28.

The sign, which now reads “Temple of Music and Art, Home of Arizona Theatre Company,” will add “In Honor of the Kasser Family.”

City officials said they have no issues with selling naming rights to spaces at the city-owned Temple of Music and Art, which the city has leased to ATC since 1990. The theater company pays $1,200 a month, and the city is in the process of extending the lease an additional five years to summer 2030, said Greg Jackson, Tucson Parks and Recreation deputy director.

Jackson said ATC has been flirting since 2015 with selling naming rights, which is in line with its city lease. He said the ATC agreement stipulates that if ATC vacates the temple, the city can remove those names.

August said the money raised through the naming rights effort will help ensure “the presence of a fully professional regional theatre that produces original work by local and national artists,” which in turn could be an economic driver.

“It tells prospective businesses and residents that this is a place where culture thrives, where life happens, and where ideas are nurtured and propelled in creative and engaging ways,” August said in an email interview. “By supporting ATC, we not only enrich our community but also invest in Arizona’s economic future.”

ATC already has commitments for the Palice Courtyard, the Susan and Jeffrey Rein Box Office, the Radke Family Company Management Office and the Connie Hillman Family Foundation Cabaret.

Proceeds from Rise Above will be used to expand ATC’s student matinee series, strengthen outreach and community partnerships and support discount ticket programs that make theater more affordable for all, August said.

The money also will help close the gap from “the continual” loss of federal and state funding, added August, who is coming into his third season with ATC.

“Performing arts organizations need to discover and nurture new avenues of philanthropy and funding,” he said, citing the announcement in May that the National Endowment of the Arts was rescinding and reconsidering grants that did not align with President Donald Trump’s agenda. Such grants included those focusing on elevating the nation’s HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) and Hispanic serving institutions, fostering AI competency and empowering houses of worship to serve communities.

“The NEA cancelled millions of dollars of already committed grants, which included grants to ATC,” August said. “While we are continuing to plan future seasons of programing and modifying our operations to survive in this climate, financial support from our community is essential.”

ATC was anticipating a $25,000 NEA grant to fund its 2025 National Latine Playwrights Award that it has presented each year since 1995. This year’s recipient is Puerto Rican playwright Edwin Sánchez.