It is named after the theatre producer and real estate magnate Roger L. Stevens and was opened on April 22, 1983.
[1] The Stevens Center was originally the Carolina Theater, a movie theatre, before it was donated to the School of the Arts in 1980 by the Winston-Salem Journal.
It was renovated by the School of the Arts using $9.6 million in state bond money and opened on April 22, 1983, with a star-studded gala featuring the UNCSA symphony Orchestra with Leonard Bernstein conducting and Isaac Stern as soloist, and Gregory Peck as the master of ceremonies.
Guests in attendance included Agnes de Mille, Cliff Robertson, Governor James Hunt, President and Mrs. Gerald Ford and Lady Bird Johnson.
In 1990, UNCSA signed a deal to bring preview shows of Broadway Musicals to the Stevens Center but had to end that relationship because the school was losing money on it.