CLEVELAND, OH - Playhouse Square has received one of the largest gifts in its history.

KeyBank, a longtime supporter of Playhouse Square, announced a $10 million gift to the performing arts center's Advancing the Legacy Campaign on Saturday night.

"We are pleased and proud to be able make this gift to help support the arts and education and the thriving and continuing renaissance of downtown Cleveland," said Beth Mooney, chairman and CEO of KeyCorp.

It is only the second such gift in Playhouse Square's history, following a $10 million gift from the Richard J. Fasenmyer Foundation in December 2014.

"KeyBank has long been a strong supporter of Playhouse Square," said Art Falco, president and CEO of Playhouse Square. "Their commitment to the community is one thing that makes KeyBank so strong, and a perfect fit for us."

"We're very grateful that the support of KeyBank is continuing and growing and the partnership we've had for many years will strengthen."

In honor of the contribution, the State Theatre will be renamed the "KeyBank State Theatre." New signs will be in place by the fall. The State is Playhouse Square's largest and oldest venue.

"Aligning our two brands together is terrific," said Falco.

KeyBank's contribution will support all five of the campaign's objectives - capital improvements, education programming, endowment growth, neighborhood transformation and new production.

But it was essential to both KeyBank and Playhouse Square that arts education be a key component of the gift. To that end, a portion of the gift is designated specifically to provide for tickets and a transportation subsidy to bring 40,000 Cleveland Metropolitan School District students to performances at Playhouse Square over the next five years.

"The ability to be able to help the theaters and arts education and to bring kids downtown was vital to us," said Mooney.

KeyBank has contributed philanthropically to Playhouse Square for two decades, including donations for the 1998 Allen Theatre renovation; the Idea Center at Playhouse Square; the Allen Theatre Project, which brought Cleveland Play House and Cleveland State University's Department of Theatre and Dance to Playhouse Square as resident companies; and the 25th anniversary of Playhouse Square Partners.

"Advancing the Legacy, The Campaign for Playhouse Square," led by chairs Thomas Adler, K.K. Sullivan and Daniel Walsh, is the largest philanthropic effort ever pursued by the organization. To date, $88 million has been raised toward the campaign.