Early Stages

Diane Sears | 8/1/2007

As Orlando and Orange County finalize plans for a regional performing arts center, a study indicates the center can’t arrive a moment too soon — the impact of central Florida’s arts community on the local economy is lagging. “We track significantly lower on our numbers than many like-sized communities we compete with for economic development,” says Margot Knight, president and CEO of United Arts of Central Florida.

Margo Knight, CEO of United Arts of Central Florida, hopes to beef up the impact of the region’s arts community. One asset: The artistic talent pool created by Orlando’s theme parks.

The Americans for the Arts study, which compares 156 communities, shows the arts have an economic impact of $165.3 million in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties. Arts communities in areas with similar populations of 3.5 million to 4 million have a far larger impact: Greater Washington, D.C., $2.15 billion (13 times the central Florida impact); metro Philadelphia, $1.34 billion (eight times); the arts community of Miami-Dade, with about 2.4 million residents, has an economic impact six times that of central Florida’s.

While the area lacks a cohesive arts scene and the “old money” investments common in other communities, Knight says, there are many promising signs. The $376-million Dr. P. Phillips Orlando Performing Arts Center is scheduled to open in 2010. And smaller venues are gaining private support, including a future University of Central Florida Arts II building, a planned performance hall at Lake-Sumter Community College, a 1935 theater under renovation in Winter Garden, the historic Helen Stairs Theatre for the Performing Arts in Sanford and the Osceola Center for the Arts, which recently underwent a $2-million face lift.

Orlando’s theme parks have created a deep pool of artists for the region. “We really have a rich artistic community here because the theme parks are built on creativity. They live and breathe it,” Knight says. “We need to connect what they do with what we do.”

Economic Generator

The impact of non-profit arts and culture on the local economy:

» $165.3 million — total spending on arts events
» 5,661 — full-time equivalent jobs
» $111.7 million — total household income of arts patrons
» $20.7 million — local and state government revenue generated from arts programs
» $77 million — total spending by employees
» 65,000 — volunteer hours, worth $12 million

Tags: Central