Construction officially starts for long-awaited Performing Arts Centre in downtown Fredericton

Construction officially got underway at the site of the new Performing Arts Centre with a special ceremony in downtown Fredericton today. In the coming months, residents can expect to see more activity at the corner of King and Regent streets.

The event, hosted by Fredericton Playhouse Inc., opened with Wolastoq Grand Chief Ron Tremblay leading a special ceremony to honour the land on which the new facility will be built with Chief Allan Polchies of St. Mary’s First Nation also in attendance. Key partners such as the Government of Canada, the Province of New Brunswick and the City of Fredericton were also present, each playing a pivotal role in funding the new Performing Arts Centre.  

The venue will be able to accommodate large touring performances from global artists, to ballet to Broadway, along with smaller local performing arts and music groups. It will be home to two theatres—a large main hall boasting 850 seats with two levels and an orchestra pit, and an innovative 300-seat studio theatre that’s flexible for a variety of needs. The building will also include several informal spaces, including expansive lobbies, an interior amphitheatre stair, and a multipurpose studio room.

“The new Performing Arts Centre has long been a priority for Fredericton and is now on its way to becoming a state-of-the-art facility that will open a world of exciting possibilities for all to enjoy,” said Mayor Kate Rogers. “This generational project reflects the needs and aspirations of a growing community where arts and culture are central to our identity and way of life.”

Fredericton Playhouse Inc. is a charitable organization, and its volunteer board has been working on the Performing Arts Centre project for more than ten years. With construction underway, the focus is now to bring the design plans to life and meet community fundraising goals through the Encore! campaign the largest fundraising campaign in the history of performing arts across the region. The Fredericton Playhouse is over halfway to its campaign goal of $10 million.

 “With a new civic footprint on this site that offers an innovative and fully accessible hub where people can come together to share experiences, we will have significantly more capacity to strengthen our community through live performance,” said Craig Leonard, President of the Fredericton Playhouse Inc. Board. “The Performing Arts Centre will be where we help facilitate magic for everyone in our community in an even greater way.”

The new Performing Arts Centre is expected to be completed in 2026.

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