The final construction phase of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, added last year to Dallas' Arts District, helped ratchet up arts-related construction spending in North Texas more than 80 percent, an arts support group said Friday.

FILE 2009/Staff Photo

Completion of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Arts District accounted for 64 percent of the $182.6 million spent on arts-related construction and renovation in 2009.

Eighty-seven arts-related groups in North Texas – mostly in Dallas – spent an estimated $183 million on new construction and renovation last year, according to a nearly 40-page report on the economic impact of arts and cultural organizations. That was an 81 percent hike over the recession-reduced tally of $100.8 million in 2008, says the report, produced by financial services firm Deloitte for North Texas' Business Council for the Arts.

Members of the arts community who gathered at the Nasher Sculpture Center to hear the report said moving beyond the feel-good nature of the arts and focusing on the bottom line help cash-strapped groups seek funding.

"It's so important to go to the City Council and say, 'Here are the facts,' " said Margaret Chalfant, executive director of the Greater Denton Arts Council. "When you can talk a businessman's language, it makes all the difference in the world."

The report is the latest in a series that began in 1992 and includes data back to 1990. This is the first year the report – which covers 2007, 2008 and 2009 – has included a number of smaller cities around Dallas and Fort Worth. Past years included only the major cities.

To determine the broad economic impact, the report includes information on spending by the 87 groups on everything from personnel to postage. The groups employ an estimated 1,483 full-time workers and use more than 4,060 independent contractors, the report said.

The report uses inexact but generally acceptable measures for gauging economic impact by adding a "multiplier" to account for the impact, for example, of an arts employee spending money with local firms.

It also tries to estimate how much arts patrons spend on dinner and parking while attending events. Taking those estimates into account, the report tabulated last year's economic impact at $1.06 billion, up nearly 7 percent from $995.3 million in 2008.

It was the first year since reporting began that the estimate topped $1 billion. The 2007 estimate was $998.2 million.

Although the report includes a number of assumptions and estimates, backers say the economic impact figures are conservative because only 16 percent of the 540 local arts and cultural organizations queried completed the survey. Greater participation would have revealed more spending, they said.

"The numbers could be dramatically different if we had even 125 respondents," said Larry Kivett, a senior manager at Deloitte.

In addition to the AT&T Performing Arts Center – the $354 million performance space that includes the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House and the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre – respondents included the Dallas Black Dance Theater and the Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County.

One of the most striking numbers in the report was the construction estimate. The report puts the figure for 2009 at $325.4 million, including direct spending and the multiplier.

Of the three categories measured – arts group spending for daily operations, audience spending and construction – the latter was the only figure to climb in 2009. Both arts group operations and audience spending dropped about 10 percent last year, largely due to the economy, Kivett said.

Construction spending "obviously jumps from '08 to '09 and ... it's largely attributable to the AT&T Performing Arts Center," said Donna Epps, also of Deloitte.

Of the $182.6 million reported, 64 percent, or $116.55 million, went to complete the performing arts center, according to the center. The center broke ground in 2005.

Arts enthusiasts said Friday they hope to improve on future surveys and find ways to include data from more groups.

The report is designed "to encourage continued investment in and support of arts and cultural organizations," Epps said. "A lot of people don't think about the economic impact of the arts."