Why was the Civic Center renamed the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts?

The name was changed in September 2023 by the Idaho Falls City Council in recognition of Frontier Credit Union's very generous $3.5 million donation to the capital campaign currently underway to upgrade the lobby and restrooms. 

The City of Idaho Falls Owns the Center. Why Doesn’t the City Fund the Renovations?

Idaho Falls and its surrounding region is experiencing unparalleled economic and population growth. While the City of Idaho Falls has provided significant annual operating and maintenance support for the Idaho Falls Civic Center for the Performing Arts since 1952, it does not have the discretionary funding to complete major capital improvements without community support. The State of Idaho does not permit municipalities to increase their budgets by more than 3% per year without a public vote approving the increase. Because it is difficult to convince voters to voluntarily accept large property tax increases, it is very challenging for the city to fund large scale capital projects. Meanwhile, the fast growing population of eastern Idaho has not only increased the demand for the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts, but has also increased the need for other City-funded services such as police, the fire department, roads and bridges, parks and recreation, etc., leaving even less funding available for capital projects. Thus, cities like Idaho Falls rely on public/private partnerships to address capital improvements for facilities like the Frontier Center. The City of Idaho Falls has also given generously to support both Phase I and Phase II renovations of the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts, but the support of the community is needed to complete these necessary renovations.

What happens if Idaho Falls High School moves to another location? 

The City of Idaho Falls owns the Frontier Center and School District 91 owns Idaho Falls High School.  They are two separate buildings which share an interior wall. In the recent past, School District 91 has proposed funding a new high school in another location.  But the voters, so far, have not met the 66.67% supermajority requirement to pass a bond which would pay for that. The short answer is: It doesn’t matter. The proposed expansion of the lobby, elevator, and new ADA compliant restrooms and elevator can be completed regardless of the location of \ Idaho Falls High School. 

What About Parking? 

Most events are held at night when the high school isn’t in session and the City of Idaho Falls owns the north parking lot. The City of Idaho Falls owns the parking lot adjacent to the Frontier Center along John Adams Parkway. There are plenty of parking spots in the lot along with on-street parking. Most events are held at night when the high school isn't in session, and so for most events, there is plenty of parking. So, there is plenty of parking. An important benefit of this project is creating a new passenger drop off area on Holmes Avenue in front of the building. During our freezing cold Idaho winters, the new drop off area will make accessing the Frontier Center entrance less hazardous for attendees.