South Dakota State University officials are asking the City of Brookings to pledge nearly $12 million in secondpenny sales tax toward construction of the $30 million Performing Arts Center Phase II.

University President David Chicoine brought the request to the Brookings City Council on Tuesday evening, in support of the school's previously submitted application for city funds.

The SDSU appeal for one-time construction funds would help pay for a new 850-seat proscenium theater on campus.

"The $11.8 million, that's the estimated cost in today's dollars of most of the public space in the project. … This really will enable the realization of the original vision for the Performing Arts Center, including the recital hall, the reception space, the theater and the studio theater," Chicoine explained. "To me, this is a really unique opportunity for South Dakota State University and the community of Brookings to join together to create a comprehensive performing arts venue to provide a platform for this community and our university, that without this joint venture, we could not probably achieve."

The addition to the north side of the existing Performing Arts Center has an overall estim a t e d price tag of $30.1 mill i o n . Officials suggest that beyond the city money, university and private funds would pay for the remainder. Includes recital hall

Besides a theater, features of the expansion plan include accompanying support space for stage productions, a musical recital space, instrumental and choral music rehearsal rooms, individual practice and lesson music rooms, and faculty offices for Music and Communications Studies and Theatre departments.

The proscenium theater is meant to be a replacement for Doner Auditorium. Seating capacity in the 1912 facility was reduced in May 2008, when its balcony was closed due to safety concerns. Doner used to accommodate an audience of 832, and now the available seating is down 39 percent, to 507. The facility also has limited accessibility for patrons who have physical disabilities. Phase I: $10.2 million

The first phase of the Performing Arts Center was occupied in 2003. With a total building price tag of $10.2 million, the city paid about 60 percent of the bill. The community provided $6 million toward construction of the 1,000-seat Larson Memorial Concert Hall, 180-seat Fishback Studio Theatre, Multipurpose Roberts Reception Hall, rehearsal room/dance studio, and operational offices. Chicoine said student and community support for a PAC expansion is strong. Petitions circulated around campus and the city last spring have 2,200 students signatures in support of the project, as well as the names of 800 other Brookings residents.

The project would also have a great economic impact on the area, he added. Would be a draw for city

Besides bringing to town even more theatre patrons, who spend money at other Brookings businesses while they're here, the expansion would allow the PAC to host more high school events. High school events bring students here, as well as their parents and families, Chicoine explained.

"Having the Performing Arts Center in its entirety would just open up a whole other set of opportunities for us to host high school performances , both on the music side and the theater side. Right now there's just very few places in the state you can do that. We would certainly be a very attractive venue for that once we're able to put the theater portion of the Performing Arts Center together," the president told the city councilors.

"We believe it will be a significant addition not only to South Dakota State University, but, we really believe, to the community of Brookings, and we would appreciate your consideration as we think about partnership to advance both the university and the community going forward." Construction start in 2012?

Once funding commitments are in place for a PAC expansion, the project is subject to approval by the South Dakota Board of Regents and the state Legislature. SDSU's application to the city says that the project was designed so that construction could start within weeks of legislative approval, possibly in spring 2012. Under an aggressive timeline, construction would take 18 months.

A best-case scenario suggests that Phase II could be open for use by fall 2013, but "it is conceivable that fundraising and construction may extend the completion of the project into 2014."

City councilors will discuss the $11.8 million funding request at their Aug. 11 work session.

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister.com.