{"id":250801,"date":"2026-04-15T11:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250801\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T11:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:43:10","slug":"why-is-dallas-in-such-a-rush-to-find-a-taker-for-the-majestic-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/250801\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Dallas in such a rush to find a taker for the Majestic Theater?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To the same-as-it-ever-was pile, we add yet another sequel to an old story: The city\u2019s once again looking for someone to take the 105-year-old Majestic Theater<\/a> off its hands. And by off its hands, I mean off the books. Because, all together now: Everything must go.<\/p>\n

City Manager Kimberly\u00a0Bizor Tolbert on Friday told the Dallas City Council that she\u2019s searching for a third party to operate the city-owned historical landmark<\/a> in the hopes that a public-private partnership will \u201csupport the ongoing needs and increase revenue streams at the Majestic.\u201d Ideally, Tolbert wrote, \u201cthe preferred structure for an agreement would be in the form of a triple net lease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which means a tenant wouldn\u2019t have to pay much rent, but would have to maintain Theater Row\u2019s sole survivor. And as city officials keep reminding us while trying to offload Dallas City Hall, keeping everything in working order ain\u2019t cheap, especially in old buildings. Just last month, the City Council approved spending more than $660,830 on a new sound system<\/a> at the Majestic to replace one installed 14 years ago, which is old enough that it\u2019s out of warranty and no longer reparable.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ll see below, though, the Majestic isn\u2019t exactly a money-loser. But\u00a0Tolbert appears eager for the Majestic to be someone else\u2019s problem. Except that maintenance piece of the lease is likely to be the biggest non-starter since Anthony Davis.<\/p>\n

\"Arthur<\/p>\n

Arthur Rothstein’s classic 1942 photo of downtown Dallas includes the Majestic alongside the other gems of the Theater Row long since dismantled and disappeared. (Library of Congress\/Arthur Rothstein)<\/p>\n

The first person I called about the Majestic going up for grabs was Warren\u00a0Tranquada, president and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, which books events at the Elm Street theater, including a May 9 Mickey Dolenz show<\/a>. I asked if the ATTPAC was interested in taking over the Majestic.<\/p>\n

He laughed and said only, \u201cWe love using the Majestic. It\u2019s a great venue, and regardless of who the next operator is, we hope to continue using it regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then I called Edwin Cabaniss, owner of the Longhorn Ballroom and Kessler Theater, who also puts on concerts at the Majestic, including\u00a0Saturday\u2019s show featuring Men at Work frontman Colin Hay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He called it an \u201cexceptional facility,\u201d and said that \u201cif the city were to put it out for bid, I believe it would attract interest from capable operators at both the local and national levels. Operating historic properties comes with unique challenges, so the lease details will need to be thoroughly vetted by both parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that was all he\u2019d say.<\/p>\n

But if history is our guide, we should lower our expectations. Because\u00a0\u2014 shocking, I know\u00a0\u2014\u00a0we\u2019ve been here before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Majestic, built in 1921 for $2 million, was long the centerpiece of Karl\u00a0Hoblitzelle\u2019s Interstate Theatre chain before closing in 1973. The Hoblitzelle Foundation gifted it to the city in 1977, and six years and $6 million later<\/a>, the Majestic reopened. But the foundation didn\u2019t just give away the Majestic and walk away from it: Its president and CEO, Katie Robbins, said they\u2019ve invested more than $500,000 in capital improvements, and helped fund the 2018 Dallas Cultural Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robbins, who sits on the\u00a0ATTPAC\u2019s board, said the foundation supports the city\u2019s efforts \u201cto ensure the Majestic continues to play a strong role in a dynamic and evolving downtown,\u201d but expressed concern about turning over the theater to a for-profit operator.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith several venues in close proximity\u00a0\u2014 including the\u00a0Winspear Opera House, Wyly Theatre, the forthcoming Forest Theater and the Music Hall at Fair Park\u00a0\u2014 it will be important that the Majestic complements and strengthens the overall landscape rather than competing with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For a long time, the city had no idea what to do with the Majestic. In 1999, Dallas Summer Musicals Management Group took over operations, but was happy to see its contract expire a decade later.\u00a0DSM claimed it lost $1 million operating the Majestic.<\/p>\n

The city went looking for\u00a0wanna-be operators at the end of 2009<\/a>, but months later could find none\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 in part, because the AT&T Performing Arts Center had just come online, and management groups didn\u2019t want to compete with the city\u2019s newest bright-and-shinies. One applicant told me Monday the city also wanted an operator to assume maintenance responsibilities then, a deal-killer.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Majestic was called the New Majestic when it opened in 1921, as it replaced a previous theater with the same name. The “Theater” or “Theatre,” either of which appears to be acceptable, was only added decades later. (Ashley Landis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Since mothballing the Majestic wasn\u2019t an option, the city\u2019s Office of Cultural Affairs (now the Office of Arts and Culture) took control, though it took\u00a0the 2013 hiring of Mike Schwedler, who\u2019d been booking shows at the Granada Theater on Greenville Avenue<\/a>, for the Majestic to become majestic again.<\/p>\n

Since\u00a0Schwedler\u2019s hiring, the Majestic has played host<\/a> to the likes of Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, Dire Straits\u2019 Mark Knopfler, Elvis Costello, Sabrina Carpenter and, just last month, Robert Plant. Schwedler has done a remarkable job maintaining the legacy of a venue whose stage once featured Duke Ellington, Bob Hope and Mae West.<\/p>\n

Schwedler couldn\u2019t talk about the memo. And a city spokesperson hasn\u2019t responded to numerous questions about why the city is yet again looking for an outside Majestic operator now.<\/p>\n

It took some digging just to figure out how much the Majestic costs taxpayers, because according to\u00a0the city\u2019s latest budget document<\/a>, the Office of Arts and Culture is responsible for some 19 cultural venues, which cost $15.56 million annually. Jack Ireland, the city\u2019s chief financial officer, was helpful enough to break down how much the Majestic costs to operate ($2.98 million \u201cfor both operating and capital\/maintenance\u201d) and how much revenue it generates ($2.31 million from ticket sales, concession sales, theater rentals and what he calls \u201cthe Majestic Theater multi-year fund\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"Jeff<\/p>\n

Jeff Tweedy, founder and frontman of Wilco, has performed numerous times at the Majestic, including in 2019. (Shaban Athuman\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The budget lists that multi-year fund separately, as the Majestic \u201cgift and trust.\u201d But Ireland said that might be \u201cinaccurately classified,\u201d as it\u2019s funded by ticket and rental fees. Regardless, it\u2019s a restricted fund of some $900,000 controlled by the city and used solely \u201cfor the Majestic Theatre\u2019s benefit and improvements,\u201d per Ireland. The new sound system\u2019s coming out of that extra pile of cash.<\/p>\n

So, if I do my math correctly\u00a0\u2014 no promises\u00a0\u2014 the Majestic will just about break even this year. Which makes the rush to part with it all the more curious.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a fortune still awaiting a Majestic makeover.<\/p>\n

In 2024, voters approved a $1.25 billion bond program from which there\u2019s $8.3 million set aside for the Majestic. But seeing as how\u00a0nothing\u2019s been designed or built<\/a>, the city\u2019s clearly not in a rush to spend it. Which would be funny if it weren\u2019t so frustrating.<\/p>\n

\"Everything<\/p>\n

Everything about the Majestic is majestic, including its lobby. (Ashley Landis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

I once sat in on a council meeting during which officials complained that the Majestic\u2019s exterior needed at least $2 million worth of work\u00a0\u2014 and that was\u00a0more than a decade ago<\/a>, when then-council member Lee Kleinman chided staff that \u201cbond money is not to fix things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Except here in Big D (for Deferred Maintenance), that\u2019s all we spend it on. Look no further than the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.<\/p>\n

In 2019,\u00a0the city somehow convinced the Dallas Symphony Association to take the Meyerson off its hands<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including maintenance costs for the next 99 years!\u00a0\u2014 by promising it could have every cent from the 2006 and 2017 bond programs<\/a> meant to address deferred maintenance. Except that wasn\u2019t enough, and in 2024 voters added another $7.3 million to address a leaky roof<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Michelle Miller Burns, the\u00a0DSO\u2019s president and CEO, said there are upsides to managing the Meyerson, like controlling the calendar and being able to rent it out. But, she noted, \u201cWe are managing a building that is 36 years old, and its maintenance is a major undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now imagine that building was 105 years old. Sounds like a majestic undertaking. Any takers?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To the same-as-it-ever-was pile, we add yet another sequel to an old story: The city\u2019s once again looking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250802,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4643,95084,102,105,106,104,103,13904,80013,2509],"class_list":["post-250801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-anthony-davis","tag-city-manager-kimberly-bizor-tolbert","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-city-council","tag-dallas-city-hall","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-kessler-theater","tag-majestic-theater","tag-theater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}