PICTURE THIS: UNIVERSITY HOPES PERFORMING ARTS CENTER WILL PAY DIVIDENDS

Performance halls don't just sound good, they make dollars and sense, proponents say.

They aren't profit-making machines, but the cultural activities performance halls showcase pay off in economic dividends for their regions, say those who are directing efforts to build performing arts centers in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Paducah, Ky.

A Murray State University study estimates that a new arts center in Paducah could increase annual economic activity in Kentucky by almost $12.6 million.

Closer to home, Southeast Missouri State University wants to spend $36.6 million to renovate and expand a former Catholic seminary in Cape Girardeau for use as a new River Campus. The River Campus would house Southeast's School for Visual and Performing Arts.

A key part of the planned 115,000-square-feet of new construction would be a 1,000-seat performance hall that could accommodate traveling Broadway shows and other touring groups.

In St. Louis, the University of Missouri-St. Louis has plans to build a $50 million performing arts center. In Paducah, plans call for construction of a $23 million performing arts center.

Both the St. Louis and Paducah projects are ahead of Cape Girardeau's in that they already have secured state funding from their respective Legislatures to pay part of the cost.

UMSL has secured more than $40 million from the state of Missouri over the past three years to put toward construction of a performing arts center that will include a 1,650-seat theater. The university is raising the rest of the money.

A private, non-profit corporation in Paducah is directing the construction of the Four Rivers Center for the Performing Arts.

The Kentucky Legislature appropriated $12 million this year for construction of the center at a site in downtown Paducah along the Ohio River. The rest is expected to come from private donations.

Southeast hopes to secure $17.8 million from the Missouri Legislature. The other half would come from private donations and a city tax. A tax measure could be put before the voters this November.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president, said he doesn't expect a performance hall on the River Campus to be a money maker.

But he said the performance hall as part of a visual arts campus could boost culture in the area and help the university recruit students nationally.

A performance hall should be viewed as more than entertainment. It should be viewed as an instructional facility, Nitzschke said.

"It's a laboratory for students to learn," he said.

A performance hall could be used for everything from lectures and convocations to symphony performances and musicals, Nitzschke said.

The Southeast president believes a performing arts center could attract a wide audience.

"Build it. They will come," said Nitzschke, who parlayed that philosophy into a success at Marshall University in West Virginia.

As president of that school, he was the driving force behind efforts to build a $30 million, 30,000-seat football stadium. The stadium has proven to be a big draw for the school and the community of Huntington.

Nitzschke said an arts center in Cape Girardeau could aid economic development. Major businesses want to locate officers where there is a high level of culture and entertainment. he said.

Nitzschke said three Broadway shows, two ballets and six symphony concerts could be held in the proposed River Campus performance hall over the course of a year. The facility also could be used by other traveling shows.

Nitzschke said a performance hall shouldn't have a negative impact on the Show Me Center, which is used for everything from basketball games to country music concerts.

The Show Me Center made about a $20,000 profit last year, he said.

Events that require seating for thousands will still be held at the Show Me Center, he said.

Nitzschke said the performance hall would be used regularly for instructional purposes. The place could be rented for various events too.

Nitzschke said the university intends to do a utilization study once funding is secured.

Such a study already has been done for the UMSL project. A California consulting firm concluded that the St. Louis facility could generate $1.8 million in its third year of operation.

Even with $1 million in additional funding from the state, the center would be left with an annual deficit of more than $244,000, the consultants said.

Consultants concluded that the center would rely on outside users for 40 percent of its major events.

Bob Samples, UMSL's communications director, said the projected operating deficit isn't a concern.

UMSL's campus operates on a budget of over $100 million a year. "The budget deficit would not be a strain on the campus budget," said Samples.

He also said university officials don't believe the deficit would be as large as projected.

The consultants estimated annual expenses of $2.47 million, with much of that going for staffing.

But Samples said UMSL likely would operate the center, at least initially, with less than a full staff.

Paducah's project isn't connected with any college.

While a regional center in many ways, Paducah doesn't have a large, performance hall.

"We really don't have a facility that can accommodate touring performances of any size," said Desiree Owen, project director.

The Paducah Symphony, for example, has to play in a high school auditorium.

Owen said the new arts center would include a 2,000-seat auditorium.

Nearly $9.5 million has been raised privately for an endowment fund. Owen said that money will be used to offset expected operating deficits.

Another $11 million is needed in private funds to help pay for construction, Owen said.

Owen said the center could help boost tourism in the region.

And if all goes as scheduled, the stage lights may be shining brightly soon from St. Louis to Paducah.

Performing arts centers

University of Missouri at St. Louis

Performing Arts Center

Size: 1,650 seat theatre, smaller music hall with 300 seats, rehearsal hall and assorted offices

Funding: $50 million facility, $40.4 million of that comes from state funding that is already approved. Remainder will come from private donations

Use: Concerts, plays, dance performances and continuing education classes are expected to keep the center busy five days a week. Fox Associates and Dance St. Louis have indicated use for a combined 100 days a year.

Targeted opening date: 2002

Projected visitors: By third year of operations, center would draw 205 events in a year that would attract 279,000 people.

Projected revenue by third year: $2.23 million a year

Projected expenses by third year: $2.47 million a year

Four Rivers Center for the Performing Arts in Paducah

Size: XXXXX

Funding: $22.6 million, with $12 million approved in state funding. Local efforts have raised $10 million.

Use:

Targeted opening date: XXXX

Projected benefits: Murray State University estimates the center will increase annual economic activity in Kentucky by almost $12.6 million. Other benefits, according to the study, are creation of 269 jobs, increased payrolls of more than $4.3 million and a boost in the annual sales tax revenue by $256,000.

Southeast Missouri State University River Campus

and School for the Visual and Performing Arts

Size: 1,000-seat performance hall, rehearsal rooms, music practice rooms, recording studio, music library, technology center, museum exhibit space, small laboratory theatre, 500-seat flexible theatre and dance studios.

Funding: $35.6 million, of which $17.8 million will be requested from state funding. Private gifts and a proposed hotel/motel tax would generate the remaining $17.8 million.

Use: Two or three Broadway shows a year along with internationally-known ensembles and artists to Cape Girardeau along with symphonies, ballets, museum exhibits, others.

Targeted opening date: 2001

Projected benefits: Bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Cape Girardeau each year for performances and museum exhibits, adding directly to the economy; attracting additional students for Southeast; assisting in rejuvenation of historic downtown Cape Girardeau.