Title
Memorial 100 - Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Centennial Initiative
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FileID
File ID: 2026-01687
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Location
Location: District 4
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution: 1) approving Memorial 100 - The Sacramento Memorial Auditorium Centennial Initiative; 2) establishing the Memorial 100 Program (I17700100) as a new Multi-Year Operating Project (MYOP); 3) authorizing the City Manager or designee to transfer $1,050,000 from the available fund balance of the Community Center Fund (Fund 6010) to the expenditure budget of the Memorial 100 MYOP (I17700100); and 4) authorizing the City Manager or designee to make the necessary budgetary adjustments to implement the initiative.
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Contact
Contact: Sid Garcia-Heberger, Deputy Convention Center General Manager, (916) 808-5917, SHeberger@cityofsacramento.org; Ty Smith, City Historian, (916) 808-5960, tosmith@cityofsacramento.org; Dustin Hollingsworth, Interim Director, 916-808-5538, djhollingsworth@cityofsacramento.org, Convention & Cultural Services;
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Presenter
Presenter: N/A
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
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Additional Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: In 2027, Sacramento Memorial Auditorium will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Convention and Cultural Services (CCS) is developing Memorial 100, a year-long centennial initiative that will commemorate the Auditorium's history while using the anniversary to increase utilization, diversify programming, attract new audiences, and strengthen the facility's role as a downtown cultural destination.
Recent efforts to strengthen utilization of Memorial Auditorium and the broader SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District include restructuring the facility sales function, implementing a Promoter Incentive Program, and attracting new event types. Memorial 100 builds on that momentum through destination programming, local cultural production, historical interpretation, and audience development.
The initiative is organized around three signature activations in 2027: a Centennial Weekend in February; a summer exhibition pairing Rock U: The Institute of Rock and Roll with the debut of a new Tower Records touring exhibition; and a projection mapping finale near the end of the year. Additional programs may be incorporated throughout the centennial year, including connections to Second Saturday and other downtown activation efforts.
Memorial 100 brings together the complementary expertise of three CCS divisions: the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District, the Center for Sacramento History, and the Office of Arts and Culture.
Centennial Weekend - February 2027
Memorial 100 will open with a two-day Centennial Weekend celebrating the Auditorium as both a historic civic landmark and an active cultural venue. Saturday is envisioned as a ticketed, full-building music event featuring Sacramento artists, bands, DJs, and other performers across multiple spaces. The event would create paid opportunities for local artists, demonstrate the versatility of the facility, and introduce new audiences to the venue.
Sunday will transition to a free community open house focused on the Auditorium's commemorative purpose and 100-year history. The restored Roll of Honor will serve as a focal point, supported by archival materials, oral histories, artifacts, music, historical interpretation, and opportunities for the public to explore the building.
Summer Exhibition - July and August 2027
The summer component is intended to establish a significant destination attraction at Memorial Auditorium during a period that has historically experienced lower facility utilization. Rock U: The Institute of Rock and Roll, developed by Sacramento-region exhibition company Stage Nine Exhibitions, is anticipated to serve as the Main Hall anchor. It will be paired with the debut of a new Tower Records exhibition developed from the Tower Records Collection held by the Center for Sacramento History.
The pairing combines regional exhibition expertise, a nationally recognized Sacramento music story, and a landmark City cultural facility to create an experience rooted in Sacramento identity with broader visitor appeal. Complementary performances, conversations, educational programs, workshops, and other music-related activities will encourage repeat visitation and create opportunities for local artists, educators, cultural organizations, and creative-sector partners.
The largest single investment within Memorial 100 is the design, development, and fabrication of the Tower Records exhibition as a durable touring asset. Approximately $400,000 of the $650,000 summer-exhibition budget is reserved for this work. The exhibition is anticipated to encompass approximately 2,000 square feet and would be designed from the outset for disassembly, transportation, reinstallation, and presentation at future venues.
For planning purposes, staff has considered a typical custom museum and touring exhibition-development range of approximately $400 to $600 per square foot, depending on fabrication, technology, interactivity, collections requirements, and touring infrastructure. Applied to a 2,000-square-foot exhibition, that range would equate to approximately $800,000 to $1.2 million. The current $400,000 allocation is approximately $200 per square foot and is therefore a conservative development budget for the anticipated scale and touring requirements.
Following its Memorial Auditorium debut, the Tower Records exhibition could be reconfigured for presentation elsewhere in Sacramento and subsequently offered to museums and cultural institutions in other markets. This approach extends the useful life of the City's investment and creates future opportunities for exhibition rental, licensing, sponsorship, and related earned revenue.
Projection Mapping Finale - November/December 2027
Memorial 100 will conclude with a large-scale projection mapping experience using the exterior of Memorial Auditorium as a canvas for a visual and musical journey through the facility's first century. The free outdoor experience will incorporate archival imagery, music, historical milestones, and Sacramento stories and would be presented multiple times to allow broad public participation. In addition to providing a highly visible conclusion to the centennial, the activation is intended to generate evening activity and foot traffic for surrounding downtown businesses.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: Memorial 100 is consistent with Creative Edge: Sacramento's Arts, Culture & Creative Economy Plan, adopted by the City Council in June 2018. Goal 3 of Creative Edge is to "Build upon and expand Sacramento's unique creative economy."
Creative Edge Strategy 3.3.5, Packaged Cultural Experiences, calls for expanding cultural experiences that can attract visitors, including major traveling exhibitions and festivals, with attention to tourism objectives and experiences grounded in Sacramento's neighborhoods, history, and cultural assets. Strategy 3.3.6, Iconic Event and Co-producing Program, calls for an iconic Sacramento cultural event that builds on existing programs, reflects Sacramento's unique culture, engages arts, cultural, and historical organizations, and expands the City's co-producing role in larger cultural events with broad community impact.
Memorial 100 advances these adopted policy directions by pairing Sacramento history and cultural assets with destination-oriented programming, engaging local artists and cultural partners, and using a major City-owned cultural facility as the platform for a highly visible civic and cultural initiative.
The initiative also aligns with the City's FY2026/27 One City, One Future Priorities Strategic Workplan under the Economic Development priority and Vibrant Destination focus area. Memorial 100 supports Strategic Initiative 9, Support and Expand the Creative Economy, through paid opportunities for artists, creative production, cultural partnerships, and development of a touring cultural asset. It supports Strategic Initiative 10, Strengthen the Waterfront-to-Convention Center Destination Corridor, through investment and activation at Memorial Auditorium, a principal anchor of the downtown visitor corridor. It also supports Strategic Initiative 11, Advance Cultural District Development and Heritage Experiences, through programming that interprets Sacramento history and uses cultural and historical assets to strengthen the visitor experience.
Memorial 100 therefore serves as a direct implementation of both the City's adopted long-range cultural policy and its current economic-development and destination priorities.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: Memorial 100 is intended to generate economic activity through visitation to Memorial Auditorium, ticket and admission sales, food and beverage activity, employment of local artists and creative businesses, and spending at surrounding downtown businesses. The summer exhibition is designed as a sustained attraction operating over multiple weeks rather than as a single-day or weekend event, creating the potential for repeat visitation and visitor spending throughout the exhibition period.
Consistent with City Council’s tourism priorities workshop in May 2026, the initiative strengthens Sacramento's destination identity by creating a cultural experience unique to the city and associated with a nationally recognized Sacramento story. The touring format would allow the Tower Records exhibition to continue promoting Sacramento in other markets after its local debut, while simultaneously generating revenue for the Center for Sacramento History.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: This report concerns administrative activities that will not have a significant effect on the environment and is exempt from the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review [CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3); 15378(b)(2)].
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Sustainability
Sustainability: Not Applicable.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not Applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The 100th anniversary of Memorial Auditorium presents a one-time opportunity to commemorate a significant civic asset while advancing broader City objectives related to cultural programming, destination development, downtown activation, and creative-sector growth.
Memorial 100 is structured as more than a single commemorative event. It combines a major civic celebration, sustained summer programming during a historically lower-use period, paid opportunities for Sacramento artists, interpretation of the City's history, and creation of a reusable touring exhibition. These components are intended to increase utilization, broaden audiences, and strengthen Memorial Auditorium's role within the downtown visitor experience.
The proposed investment also leaves value after the centennial year. Most notably, the City would retain the Tower Records exhibition as a cultural asset that can be presented locally, toured to other markets, and potentially generate rental, licensing, sponsorship, and related revenue. This distinguishes the largest portion of the proposed investment from spending limited to a one-time event.
Establishing a dedicated MYOP and appropriating funding now will allow CCS to proceed with program development and procurement. Individual contracts requiring Council approval will return separately in accordance with City contracting requirements and applicable authority.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The investment required to produce Memorial 100 is approximately $1.05 million. The budget allocations below will be refined through procurement, partnership and sponsorship development and final program design.
|
Activation |
Investment |
|
Centennial Weekend |
$100,000 |
|
Tower Records Exhibition Design, Development & Fabrication |
$400,000 |
|
Rock U: The Institute of Rock and Roll and Summer Programming |
$250,000 |
|
Projection Mapping Finale |
$300,000 |
|
Total |
$1,050,000 |
No general funds will be used to support Memorial 100. Instead, CCS proposes using Community Center Fund balance to finance the project. There is sufficient funding available in the Community Center Fund (Fund 6010) available fund balance to make the recommended budgetary transfer for this program.
Memorial 100 is expected to generate offsetting revenues from ticket sales and admissions, sponsorships, merchandise, food and beverage activity, and other ancillary sources. Actual revenues will depend on final programming, pricing, attendance, sponsorship agreements, and operating arrangements.
Potential future revenue from rental, licensing, sponsorship, or other use of the Tower Records touring exhibition would accrue to the Center for Sacramento History. Tower Records’ Sacramento origins and national recognition make the summer exhibition a particularly strong earned-revenue opportunity, while its touring design extends the value of the City’s investment beyond 2027.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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Background
Background: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium opened in 1927 and has served generations of Sacramentans as a venue for performances, concerts, sporting events, graduations, civic ceremonies, and community gatherings. The facility is part of the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District operated by CCS.
In recent years, CCS has pursued several strategies to increase utilization and strengthen the competitiveness of the City's convention and performing arts facilities, including restructuring facility sales and implementing a Promoter Incentive Program. CCS has also expanded efforts to connect the City's cultural facilities, historical collections, creative-sector programs, and destination-development work.
The Center for Sacramento History holds collections documenting Memorial Auditorium and Sacramento's broader cultural history, including the Tower Records Collection. The Office of Arts and Culture supports Sacramento artists, creative businesses, cultural organizations, and creative-economy development. The SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District operates Memorial Auditorium and is responsible for its booking, programming, and facility operations. Memorial 100 brings these capabilities together around the centennial and positions the Auditorium for its next century of use.
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