CAMPUS BENEFICIAL FOR STATE, STUDY SAYS

Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus project will generate tax dollars for the state, school officials say.

A study by the school suggests the River Campus project would generate $7.8 million in tax revenue for the state over the next nine years.

The study predicts some $5 million of that total would result directly from construction of the school for the visual and performing arts on the grounds of the former St. Vincent's Seminary in Cape Girardeau.

Missouri could realize that tax revenue over the next four years, the study said.

The study assumes the university will spend $36.7 million to develop the River Campus during that time period.

It estimates that the construction dollars will result in an economic impact of more than $84 million, assuming the money turns over 2.3 times in the economy.

Southeast's calculations are based on a 6 percent Missouri tax rate and takes into account various taxes, including income and sales taxes.

Dr. Pauline Fox, vice president for administration and enrollment management at Southeast, did the study.

She said the state would benefit largely in terms of sales tax revenue, although the project also would generate money for the state from income taxes paid by construction workers and contractors.

The study completed in August helped bolster the university's case for state tax credits.

The Missouri Development Finance Board voted late last month to issue $5 million in state tax credits to corporations and individuals making major donations to the project.

Fox said the study shows the state will recoup the $5 million in tax credits before the construction work is finished.

"The purpose of the study was to provide evidence to the board that the project would indeed repay the state of Missouri over a reasonable length of time," Fox said.

Don Dickerson, president of Southeast's Board of Regents, believes the pay back for the state was a key factor in the finance board's decision to authorize the tax credits.

"I think it had a lot to do with it," Dickerson said.

Besides the tax dollars from construction, Fox's study estimates tourism and entertainment will generate $1.85 million for the state in the River Campus' first five years of operation.

The River Campus is projected to open in the summer of 2003.

Fox's tourism calculations assume that the River Campus, with its museum and performances, will draw 120,000 visitors a year, of which 40,000 would be from outside the region.

It's estimated out-of-the-region visitors would spend nearly $72 a day on food, transportation and other items, generating $2.58 million in direct spending in the River Campus' first year of operation.

The study also estimates the River Campus will boost enrollment at Southeast by 100 students a year, beginning in 2003.

Student spending, estimated at more than $4,400 a student, would generate nearly $900,000 in tax revenue for the state over five years, the study said.

Fox said the study wasn't designed to account for all economic activity involving the River Campus.

"I tried to be conservative," she said.