The Smith Center

President & CEO Myron Martin

Offers Perspective On 4 Year Anniversary

Four years ago, The Smith Center was born out of community need. Research showed that the Las Vegas Valley was the largest community in North America without a world-class performing arts center. We were known as the “entertainment capital of the world,” but we lacked a significant community asset that served the people who live here. That’s not to say that locals had zero access to culture: Ham Hall at UNLV served our city very well for 25 years. But we knew that great cities also had non-academic centers that added to the vitality of the region.

The group responsible for The Smith Center took its duties very seriously. Members set high goals, had significant conversations with the community and created a well-crafted public/private partnership that allowed elected officials at the state, county and city levels to put aside partisanships and do something spectacular for the people who live here. Meanwhile, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation found a way to create a lasting legacy by making the single largest philanthropic contribution in our state’s history. It committed $200 million to help fund The Smith Center (including Reynolds Hall and the Boman Pavilion) as well as Symphony Park, the Discovery Children’s Museum, and our parking garage. They did this because they saw The Smith Center as the single most important project to be built in our lifetimes in southern Nevada. In addition, there were 57 other gifts of $1 million or more, and thousands of people made gifts of all sizes to make this project possible.

We looked at the greatest buildings in the world for inspiration and set out to do something that some thought was impossible: build a facility with extraordinary craftsmanship based on those great facilities that had been built (many of which were 100 years old or older). David M. Schwarz Architects was selected to design The Smith Center because of its proven ability to create timeless, classic buildings. We toured great halls, took thousands of pictures and hundreds of pages of notes before we drew the first lines on paper. In a city where buildings are torn down for sport, we were committed to build something for generations. Every decision was made with this in mind.

Using marble for floors and walls and limestone for exterior surfaces not only helped to create a lasting facility, but also allowed us to earn LEED Gold status as a green building. We took every decision seriously, right down to the bathrooms, which are not only abundant but located throughout the facility so that they are easily accessible no matter where you sit.

Speaking of sitting, you may have noticed that there are no columns or other structural elements obstructing your view, and that we insisted that our mohair-covered seats not only have more leg room but also greater width in order to add to patron comfort. And, the acoustics are wonderful. (By the way, the center created more than 3600 construction jobs at a time when our community needed these jobs the most.)

POLLSTAR magazine, a concert-industry trade publication, ranked the top-100 theaters in the world last year, and not only did The Smith Center make the cut, but we were ranked in the top 10…in the world. Needless to say, we are proud that the center has exceeded expectations.

Great architecture and great construction can create a great building. But I believe that it is what happens inside the building that really makes a difference. It’s hard to believe that The Smith Center just celebrated its fourth anniversary, and it is exciting to know that we have served two million patrons, and 250,000 students in this short period of time. I look forward to writing next time about how the center has created new opportunities for our kids to be inspired, and how the vast variety of programming means that there is something for everyone at The Smith Center. A quick view of our upcoming show schedule will entice you to come check it out for yourself!

Myron G. Martin is president and chief executive officer of The Smith Center. Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of North Texas, and an MBA from Golden Gate University. A proud Las Vegan, Martin calls Henderson home with his wife Dana Rogers Martin and daughter Molly.