A Performing Arts Center Falls Short But Celebrates Anyway

California’s Orange County Performing Arts Center is $70 million short of its expansion costs. “Borrowing $180 million through a bond issue has ensured completion of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which backers predict will carry the Costa Mesa center toward its goal of being recognized nationally as a peer of such cultural fulcrums as New York’s Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. But unless fresh donations pile up in time, leaders of the Orange County center face having to explain why the new jewel comes with a big mortgage attached — and why an organization proud of never having run a deficit in its 20-year history could have to confront unprecedented financial challenges.”