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The study provides recommendations about the most viable pathway for large-scale venue development to serve the region.
Published
The City of Portland's Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts project team announced today that its market feasibility study, which examines the viability of a two Broadway-capable venue approach in downtown Portland, is complete. The study's executive summary and report in-full are now published on the project's website.
The initial two-venue strategy emerged to prevent the region from having no operable Broadway-capable venues while Keller Auditorium was closed for necessary renovations, estimated to take two years. In October 2024, Portland City Council recommended that the City pursue a two-venue option, including a renovated Keller and a new facility at Portland State University (PSU). Resolution 37680 also outlined the need for a market feasibility study.
"We're excited to be able to share results of the market feasibility study with community members. We know Portlanders care deeply about the future of performing arts, and the entire arts and culture ecosystem, in our city and region," says Mayor Keith Wilson. "The completion of this study is an important piece of a much larger body of work that will help us revitalize Downtown and amplify Portland as a key destination for performing arts."
Chicago-based Hunden Partners, a premier tourism and placemaking advisor with expertise in performing arts venues, performed the analysis, which began in July 2025 and concluded in December 2025. Key findings and recommendations from the market feasibility study include:
- Portland's current entertainment ecosystem lacks market demand for two venues capable of large-scale, "Broadway-style" productions. Comparing Portland to other comparable cities does not justify two venues.
- Hunden does not recommend renovating Keller Auditorium as a large-scale, Broadway-capable venue. The Keller, even following a major renovation, would not be able to meet the recommended number of seats to encourage more attendance or provide needed amenities to support modern Broadway tours.
- Hunden does recommend developing a new, Broadway-capable venue at PSU, which could result in sustained growth and prevent loss of Broadway presence in Portland. PSU's site is better equipped to accommodate the necessary seating and amenities, maximizing Broadway content and maintaining a theatre-style commercial presence.
The study's recommendations are essential information for ongoing work related to the Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts project, but no decisions about the future of performing arts venues in downtown Portland have been made.
In addition to the market feasibility study, the previously completed transportation study, financial and economic impact analysis, and the recommendations of the Performing Arts Venues Workgroup will also play a crucial role. Forthcoming recommendations from the Future of Large-Scale Performing Arts Steering Committee and Mayor Wilson's Ex-Officio Table will be key, too.
"To be clear, the findings of this study are not the City's ultimate proposal," said Donnie Oliveira, Deputy City Administrator for Community & Economic Development. "This market feasibility study is one piece of a larger package of information that Mayor Wilson and the City Councilors will have at their disposal when acting as the ultimate decision-makers about how the City will move forward with its large-scale performing arts ecosystem."
This market feasibility study milestone comes on the heels of the recent announcement that Metro will withdraw from Portland'5 Centers for the Arts management, which will return to the City of Portland as of July 1, 2027. The first step in that 18-month transition, part of the related Future of Portland'5 project, is the upcoming launch of a request for information to better understanding what types of operating models exist and what kinds of operating models could exist in Portland. Additional details about the request for information will be made available in late January 2026.