Washington’s Kennedy Center faces bankruptcy, closure

A tarp covers the facade of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Sept 3.

Washington - Leaders of the Kennedy Center who have sought to add President Donald Trump’s name to the storied institution say it is facing bankruptcy and possible closure in days, the Washington Post reported on Sept 13.

According to documents obtained by the paper, the center’s board of trustees is expected to vote on Sept 15 on whether to close the main building of Washington’s performing arts centre, due to financial and safety needs.

Officials warn in the documents that the centre “could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts” within weeks, the Post reported.

Publicly recognising Trump at the centre, they argue in the 57-page pre-meeting packet, would help ensure fundraising help to keep it afloat.

“Trustees are being asked to choose among 10 texts that could be placed on the building’s exterior beneath its name,” to publicly credit Trump with the renovation, the Post reported.

Shortly after beginning his second term, Trump installed himself as chairman of the centre, which is named in honour of late president John F. Kennedy, who championed civil rights before he was assassinated in 1963.

In December, Trump’s hand-picked board voted to rename it the “Trump-Kennedy” centre, a move that was later blocked in court.

A host of artists have cancelled concerts at the venue in response to Trump’s takeover, and US media reported that Kennedy Centre ticket sales had plummeted to their lowest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Post reported the centre was slated to collect about US$124 million (S$157 million) of the projected US$220 million in revenue that it had budgeted, “leaving a roughly US$23 million deficit even after substantial spending cuts” this past fiscal year.

Additionally, the building itself was damaged in a severe storm earlier in September, when a “roughly four-by-five-foot section of ceiling plaster broke loose in the Grand Foyer and fell about 60 feet”, the Post reported, among other needed repairs.

Asked about the Post’s reporting, the Kennedy Center declined to comment and referred AFP to a recent statement from spokesperson Roma Daravi blaming “decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership”.

“Adding Chairman President Trump’s name to the building attracted new donors and was crucial to raising additional funds for the Center’s renovation,” a spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity. AFP