Saratoga Performing Arts Center
| "SPAC" | |
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| Address | 108 Avenue of Pines, Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. |
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| Location | Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. |
| Owner | State of New York |
| Operator | Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Inc. (popular music concerts booked by Live Nation) |
| Type | Outdoor amphitheatre |
| Seating type | reserved, lawn |
| Capacity | 5,103 seats, 20,000 on lawn. |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1964-1965 |
| Opened | July 9, 1966 |
| Website | |
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Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, dance, opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival. It opened on July 9, 1966, with a presentation of George Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream by the New York City Ballet.Coordinates: 43°03′19″N 73°48′21″W / 43.0553°N 73.8058°W
The Center is the official summer home of the New York City Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra, both of which are in residence for two or three weeks during the summer.
SPAC also serves as the common venue for high school graduations, particularly for Burnt Hills - Ballston Lake, Saratoga Springs, Shenendehowa, and Ballston Spa High Schools.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, inc, is a non-profit charitable corporation that runs the arts center. It holds a 50-year renewable lease with the State of New York, which owns the land, theaters and buildings that comprise the center. SPAC subcontracts with Live Nation, which organizes and presents the popular music and rock concerts every summer. The income derived from the Live Nation contract goes towards supporting the classical arts presentations.
In early February 1961, Albany newspaperman Duane La Fleche noted a wire service report about a group hoping to entice the New York Philharmonic to make Stowe, Vermont its summer residence. La Fleche proposed that the group stay in New York State and perform in Saratoga Springs. Local civic, cultural, and legislative leaders, who had previously considered a Saratoga Arts Center an interesting possibility, began to design the facility. Within a week, they held their first meeting; within a month they were focusing on Saratoga Spa State Park as the site, had won the support of State Conservation Commissioner Harold Wilm, and began discussions with both the New York Philharmonic and New York City Ballet.
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Wikipedia