The first phase of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center cost $3 million and opened in 1996. It featured a 150-seat “black box” theater for small theater and dance companies who could not afford more expensive venues such as the Capitol Theatre.

Construction on the second phase, the 500-seat Jeanne Wagner Theatre, began on 20 May 1999, with an scheduled completion date of Fall 2000. The Jeanne Wagner cost $10.4 million and is used for dance, music, theater, and other functions. The theater features “a balcony, music shell, orchestra pit, dance floor with underlying springs, and light and sound systems.”

The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and Jeanne Wagner Theatre are named in honor of the Wagner family, which donated heavily to the cause. I. J. "Izzy" Wagner owned the Wagner Bag Co., which was located on the site of the Arts Center. His mother was Rose and his wife was Jeanne.^[1]

1. "Work begins on small theater for S.L. area", Deseret News, 20 May 1999, page E2