Sydney council’s funding vow to secure $276m Broadway-style theatre

The City of Parramatta has vowed to find $93 million to guarantee the construction of its long-awaited redevelopment of the Riverside Theatres, after the estimated cost ballooned to $276 million.

As the council waits to hear whether the federal government will chip in funds for the ambitious project, councillors voted on Monday night to endorse a planned spend of $276.8 million for the revamp.

Parramatta’s Riverside Theatre project has long stood in limbo as the council worked out how to plug a gap in funding.Credit: City of Parramatta

The redevelopment will see the refurbishment of the existing 37-year-old Riverside Playhouse Theatre, the creation of a new Broadway-style lyric theatre with 1500 seats, a new 325-seat black box theatre, and a smaller boutique cinema. The doors to the complex are expected to open in 2028.

Despite being announced in 2023, the project has long stood in limbo as the council worked out how to plug a $93 million gap in funding. But the council will now plug that hole by relying on seven different funding streams, including a targeted $15 million in philanthropy and a targeted $38.9 million in “third-party fundraising” including grants.

But if the council cannot reach those targets, it will rely on the “unallocated balance of the property reserve”, the motion shows. On Tuesday, Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter said he was confident the Riverside Theatre staff would be able to fundraise the right amount, but relying on the council’s property reserves would not be a problem: “We’re in a very healthy financial position.”

In its initial 2023 business case, the council had budgeted for a $188 million project, but the budget has since been forced to expand due to the huge increase in labour costs and materials, as well as expanded plans to build connections along the foreshore of the river.

Attracting enough money, both in grants and philanthropy, for western Sydney cultural projects has proven challenging for decades. Parramatta’s Powerhouse Museum, being built less than 500 metres down the river, is still searching for more donors as construction rapidly approaches completion.

The museum says it has so far raised $66.9 million of its $75 million target, with $55.3 million taken for capital works and $11.6 million for programs. A spokesperson said they did not have a breakdown of targets for capital works and programs as the costs were combined for the first year of exhibitions.

The latest donation came from the Medich Foundation, in the form of $1 million for the building of a 55-seat cinema.

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“We know the money exists,” Zaiter said of philanthropy in the region. “We’ll be calling on all philanthropists [to donate].

He said he wanted work to commence on the theatre complex redevelopment by the end of the year.

At the meeting, which occurred the same day as the Herald revealed the council had spent almost $5.24 million over four years in removing 81 staff, Zaiter described the plan as “a very comprehensive and detailed resolution”.

“There’s commentary about lack of transparency and openness,” he said. “I think this is one of the most transparent councils we’ve had.”

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email [email protected] with news tips.

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