Self-help guru Stephen R. Covey and his wife, Sandra - with help from city officials - christened the building the Covey Center for the Arts. The Coveys donated $2 million toward the $8.5 million project.
Mayor Lewis K. Billings said it wasn't just the financial contribution that led to naming the building after the Coveys. He said it was Sandra Covey's love for the arts and the passion she had for creating the arts center.
Stephen Covey agreed.
"She has had the vision, the passion and also the discipline governed by conscience," Stephen Covey said.
Sandra Covey is a member of the Provo Arts Council and was in charge of the fund-raising effort. She expressed hope that the center would become the catalyst for revitalizing the city's downtown area.
"I can envision lovely restaurants coming in, and this whole downtown area cleaning up" because of the center, Sandra Covey said.
The building features a 670-seat theater, an amphitheater, art gallery, a dance studio and rehearsal rooms. The building was once the city's library. Now, according to Provo Arts Council Executive Director Kathryn S. Allen, it boasts the second-best acoustics for a performance hall in the state.
While the building is done and named, Billings said there is still a need to raise funds. The center is a half-million dollars shy of being paid for, and the city still needs to raise $3 million for an endowment for the arts.
