Name after philanthropist and civic leader Muriel Irene McBrien Kauffman, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a multi-venue arts center located in the city's downtown area. Though Muriel Kauffman had expressed her desire to create a performing arts venue, it was only in 2011 and several years after her death that construction was finished and the venue opened. Designed by architext Moshe Safdie, the centre and its two world-class stages - the Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall - can accommodate over 3000 audience members per night and are home to the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, as well as the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.