UH Hilo performing arts center set for $6 million renovation

A 550-seat theater that anchors campus shows and community performances in Hilo is headed for a $6 million renovation that will shut it down for seven months next year. The work will modernize the University of Hawaii at Hilo Performing Arts Center with new lobby and exterior finishes, updated auditorium seating, fresh paint, replacement carpet, remodeled bathrooms from 1974, LED lighting and a two-way intercom for box-office operations.

UH Hilo describes the Performing Arts Center as the major performing arts educational and cultural center on the Big Island and a joint special-use facility for the university and Big Island communities. That dual role is what gives the project broader weight than a simple building upgrade: the center is used for student productions, school outreach, visiting artists and local arts groups that depend on a reliable performance space in East Hawaii.

Manager Lee Barnette-Dombroski said the theater has changed very little over more than 50 years, leaving carpet, seating and other cosmetic details far behind their original life span. She said the building itself is structurally sound, so the renovation is focused on the public-facing spaces and basic modernization rather than a full rebuild.

The closure is scheduled to begin in January 2027 and run through August, which means the center will be unavailable for the bulk of the calendar year. That will interrupt campus programming and force performers, educators and community organizers to look elsewhere for rehearsal and presentation space while the work is underway. Barnette-Dombroski said the loss of the usual flow of events is painful, but she framed the shutdown as a necessary tradeoff to bring the venue up to a better standard for the next generation.

Before the doors close, the center plans a condensed fall 2026 mini-season that includes visiting artists and a November production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That short run will be especially important for families, students and local arts supporters who have relied on the PAC for holiday programming and touring acts.

The renovation also follows a broader state-supported deferred maintenance push on campus. In 2024, UH Hilo said the Performing Arts Center was among several buildings included in a $21 million funding package, and vice chancellor of administrative affairs Kalei Rapoza said the investment is critical for the future of students, educators and the community. For Hilo and the wider Big Island, the payoff could be a stronger cultural hub that keeps performances, school partnerships and community events closer to home instead of sending audiences and artists elsewhere.