Trump Kennedy Center to close for two years; over $250M secured for renovations

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

Those hoping to catch a show at the Trump Kennedy Center will only have a few months before it closes for a two-year renovation, President Donald Trump announced.

The performing arts center, which opened in 1971 and was dedicated as a living memorial to former President John F. Kennedy, will close July 4, marking the nation’s 250th birthday.

The president says that a partial shutdown of the arts center would take longer and the “quality of construction” would not be “nearly as good.”

For months, the president has argued that the center needs repairs and renovations.

“This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before,” the president posted on his Truth Social account.

Trump Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell confirmed the renovations, adding that Congress has appropriated $257 million for the upgrades.

Grenell said the center “desperately needs” the renovation, describing the two-year closure as temporary.

The Trump Kennedy Center “must raise $80 million to support performances, programming and educational opportunities,” according to its website.

It hosts over 1,500 events each year; however, since Trump added his name to the center in December, several performers have pulled out of scheduled performances.

Among the artists withdrawing from the center is Washington National Opera, citing its desire to go out as an independent nonprofit. Grenell said it was the decision of the Trump Kennedy Center, citing financial reasons as the main reason.

“The Trump Kennedy Center has made the decision to end the EXCLUSIVE partnership with the Washington Opera so that we can have the flexibility and funds to bring in operas from around the world and across the U.S. Having an EXCLUSIVE relationship has been extremely expensive and limiting in choice and variety,” Grenell posted on X. “We have spent millions of dollars to support the Washington Opera’s exclusivity, and yet they were still millions of dollars in the hole – and getting worse.”

Grenell added that the opera concluded fiscal year 2025 with a $7.2 million deficit, while “not accounting for $5.8 million additional expenses” provided by the center.

“Additionally, Washington Opera ticket sales in 2024 comprised only 4% of total revenue across the Center – making the Opera 8% of combined revenue, but 16% of combined expenses for us,” he said.

The Center Square reached out to the Trump Kennedy Center requesting projected renovation costs, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.