Colorado Mesa University launches campaign to rebuild Robinson Theatre

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Robinson Theatre has stood on the Colorado Mesa University campus since 1968, hosting countless performances but the theater is showing its age.

“As you’re part of a growing vibrant campus, there’s these constant pressures around the STEM fields and the social behavioral sciences, the health sciences, athletics, performing arts and fine arts,” said university president, John Marshall. “If you look around our campus, virtually every area of campus has either been renovated or built new over the last 15 years. Our lone exception is the performing arts.”

According to Marshall, rebuilding the Robinson Theatre is a project already several years in the making. Once it was determined a new building was needed, administrators took the plans to state lawmakers to help with funding the project.

“The most challenging part of that process of course, is convincing our friends in Denver, one, that we exist and two that there’s an important need for this region for a social economic and cultural engine here at CMU for the whole region,” said Marshall.

The university secured a $40 million state capital grant for the project. Marshall said the university is also contributing another $4 million, but more is needed. The university hopes to get the community involved in raising funds.

“The last piece of the puzzle is our community,” said Marshall. “That is what why we’re here today, to launch is a capital campaign to rebuild Robinson Theatre.”

The university plans to tear down the theater and build it again from the ground up. At this point Marshall said no specific design has been chosen but that’s in the works.

The final season for the current Robinson Theatre is fall 2022. The demolition will begin in winter 2022. The new Robinson Theatre is expected to be up and running fall, 2024.

For more information about the Robinson Theatre fundraising campaign, please visit: http://supportingcmu.com/

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