During the forums about the new student center held Sept. 20 at Miami University, several students voiced a desire to see big Broadway acts such as Rent and Wicked. But according to Patti Liberatore, director of the Performing Arts Series (PAS), bringing Broadway acts to Miami is "somewhere between hard and impossible."

She added that the reason is quite simple-they don't physically fit.

Currently, Hall Auditorium, Millett Hall and the Gates-Abegglen Theatre are the only venues available for performances.

James Lentini, dean of the School of Fine Arts (SFA), said that these sites are adequate-but not exceptional.

"Taken in whole, the facilities we have here are adequate," Lentini said. "They're pretty good in some areas and adequate in others. And in some areas he'd love to be more than just minimally acceptable."

To help alleviate some of the space constraints the current buildings have, renovations to Presser Hall and the Center for Performing Arts (CPA) are currently underway. Both of these projects were built into the original master plan for a new performing arts center and though this performing arts center is no longer on the university's radar for construction, the construction on Presser Hall and the CPA should be completed by March 2008, according to a release by the department of physical facilities.

According to Liberatore, Hall Auditorium is especially accommodating and its schedule is filled over a year in advance for performances or guest speakers.

"The challenge we have is that Hall Auditorium has 750 or so seats and everyone wants it all the time," Lentini said. "When anything gets larger than 750 seats it goes to Millett, which is completely unacoustic for almost any musical performance."

Lentini added that Millett Hall, which is transformed from a basketball arena to a performance stage, was only created to accommodate sports, not music. Other sports arenas like the new football dome in Indianapolis bring in acoustic experts to make the venue acoustically sound.

According to Liberatore, it isn't only the crowd that doesn't enjoy the venue.

"Wynton Marsalis actually spoke derogatorily from stage about performing in a gym," Liberatore said of the jazz musician who performed with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra April 6, 2003 at Miami.

In 1999-2000, a feasibility study was begun to see if a new performing arts center (PAC) could be in Miami's future.

Robert Keller, Miami University architect, said that the project fell through because of lack of donor support.

"There was a major donor associated with the project," Keller said. "We started before 9/11 occurred, and then the whole financial outlook in the country took a dive soon after that. It was my understanding that the donor support wasn't there. So we put the project on hold indefinitely."

Keller could not provide additional information in regards to this former "major donor" or any funding changes.

But he did say it is not unusual for projects to be researched and then put aside.

"In our long-range planning process there are a variety of long-range projects out there," Keller said. "There are a whole lot of factors that contribute to when a project is acted upon and when it is not. We have other projects that are in that category as well."

According to a university long-range facilities plan from 2002, the original plans for a new PAC included a space with a price tag of nearly $94 million. It was to have room for around 1,400 seats and space for an undetermined type of food service. The building was to go on the current band practice field, which would move to the other side of Patterson Avenue.

"We wanted that building to be bright and full of energy and life and people every day," Liberatore said.

But for now, according to Liberatore, Miami is working on the Presser Hall renovations and putting a new PAC on the For Love and Honor Campaign wish list. The building is on hold until they find a donor.

Though she understands the cost of a new PAC would be large, Liberatore feels it would be crucial for a university.

"A lot of students that come here went to high schools with better facilities than we have," Liberatore said. "It's a glaring hole in Miami's toolbox for students who don't even have a decent performing arts center."

Lentini also feels a new PAC would help Miami compete with other universities in the area.

"We are sorely lacking that one performing space with the PAC that would make us highly competitive with the best institutions," Lentini said.

In comparison, both Ohio University and The Ohio State University have state-of-the-art performance facilities with auditoriums that seat 2,000 and 2,477 respectively, according to their Web sites.

Liberatore understands that it is difficult for some to imagine spending so much money on a PAC.

"It's a little hard at first glance to justify a huge building like that that has 15 performances a year," Liberatore said. "But we can justify huge stadiums for football teams who play seven home games a year."

She added that it is the musical specifications and standards that go into a performance building, which add to the cost.

"Performing arts centers are one of the most expensive things to build because you need the volume in the concert hall because it is acoustic," Liberatore said. "You've got balconies and you need the sound to go up there and fill them."

Though a new PAC is on hold, a part of the original building plan is currently underway: Presser Hall renovations. According to Keller, the building's upgrades, which will cost around $10 million, are not a short-term Band-Aid fix to the space problems.

"At least in my mind all of our effort and monies and so forth have been put to what is being gained through the Presser renovation project," Keller said. "It should assist the SFA quite a bit. It should be a real improvement for the music department and the theater department."

According to both Lentini and Liberatore, Presser will become a space used for the most part by the department of music. There will be three rehearsal spaces for large and small music ensembles and rooms for music education teaching and offices. While some of the music department will need to stay in the current Center for Performing Arts (CPA), they will vacate a decent amount of space.

This summer, the CPA will undergo what Lentini called a "functional renovation" to rework those vacated spaces with the rest of the building. The final product will include a dean's suite (the dean's office is currently in the Joyner House on Spring Street), conference room and theater scene shop.

Both the Presser Hall and CPA renovations are being financed by the university budget through bids from outside donors, according to a September 2006 progress report by the department of physical facilities.

Lentini said that the renovations were already budgeted and the money was coming from the university.

While a new PAC is not on the radar of the university as a whole, the SFA will continue to work on getting it there. This time around, they are asking for a lead gift of $15 million to begin the project.