It’s not every day that a cash-strapped city decides to lay out nearly $1 million to install an air conditioning system so people will come to rock concerts and touring Broadway shows during the summer. But that’s exactly what Lynn’s mayor, Judith Flanagan Kennedy, decided to do, betting that a cool Lynn Auditorium will bring tourists, Greater Boston residents, and potential investors to downtown Lynn.

“It will eventually pay for itself, and the good will and the exposure that we get from it really can’t be calculated in dollars,” said Kennedy.