Bigger Living Arts Centre will bring ‘bigger acts, better acts’ to Mississauga, Ontario

More seats planned for the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga.

In an effort to attract “bigger” and “better acts” to the city, Mississauga officials are going to increase seating capacity by about 500 inside the Living Arts Centre’s main performance

Mayor Carolyn Parrish told INsauga.com in a recent interview that upping the capacity of the Main Auditorium (formerly Hammerson Hall) “from 1,100, which is realistically what we have in there, up to 1,670” or so is part of ongoing LAC renovation plans and also a key component of her larger vision for Mississauga’s downtown core.

“That’ll bring in bigger acts, better acts,” the mayor said from her office inside city hall, looking northward out the window at the quarter-century-old LAC, the city’s largest arts and culture facility.

A new roof, a complete rebuild of the lobby concession area and various other upgrades are also in the works for the Living Arts Centre.

Much of the major and ongoing renovation work is scheduled to be completed throughout 2024 with additional upgrades to be budgeted for and started in 2025, LAC officials said earlier this year.

In addition to those upgrades and increasing capacity in the main performance hall, Parrish said she’s also looking forward to seeing a new conference centre and hotel built on the southeast corner of the LAC site in the coming years.

The Living Arts Centre’s Main Auditorium will have greater seating capacity when renovations are completed.

That development would feature, among other amenities, “a couple of good restaurants” and is another cornerstone in her plan for a revitalized City Centre area.

A new 7,500-seat soccer stadium and an urban school that would house kindergarten-to-Grade 8 students are also part of the mayor’s vision for a revamped and re-energized downtown Mississauga core.

The LAC opened in the City Centre area, next to Square One Shopping Centre and the Mississauga Civic Centre, in 1997. Officials say the facility welcomes some 400,000 annual visitors who come to watch operas, theatre, musical concerts and other performances.

The venue features three presentation-ready theatres, seven professional craft studios and an in-house restaurant.

Some of the LAC renovation work includes:

• refreshing of the Live Cuisine restaurant (design underway and work to be completed in 2024)
• full rebuild of the lobby concession stand (design underway and work to be completed in 2024)
• roof replacement (phase two work is in the design stages)
• bird deterrent for the front façade (work is in the planning phase)
• mechanical HVAC renewal (work is underway and to be completed in 2024)
• video, audio, lighting, orchestra lift system upgrades and replacements (work is underway and to be completed in 2024/2025)

In the midst of renovations, the Living Arts Centre has also made a post-pandemic comeback, of sorts. In June, LAC officials announced that for the first time in five years, the venue had a full lineup of entertainment on tap for its 2024/25 season.

Officials said earlier the LAC promises “an ambitious and spectacular” lineup of live events for the coming season, which began Sept. 28.

It marked a much-anticipated return to a full season for the first time since 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, LAC officials said.

“This exciting new season celebrates bringing people back to the theatre and showcasing the arts,” officials said, describing the upcoming program calendar as “bold.”

By Declan Finucane, insauga.com