ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150045
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-2 EDITION: METRO
IF STRENGTH lies in numbers, the Roanoke Valley's cultural organizations will be flexing some muscle while seeking state funding at next year's General Assembly session.
With revenue forecasts gloomy and voters calling for increased funding for education, success is far from a foregone conclusion. Many in Richmond still regard cultural institutions as "niceties." Wisely, a handful of institutions in the valley are joining forces to lobby for state dollars.
And, while they're asking for some pretty impressive figures - close to $1 million over two years in operating funds for Center in the Square alone, plus a million or more for capital improvements and operations for a couple of its tenants - they can come up with some pretty impressive numbers of their own to support their requests.
The six Roanoke regional cultural attractions working together in search of state funding - the Art Museum of Western Virginia, the Blue Ridge Zoological Society, Center in the Square, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, Virginia's Explore Park and the Virginia Museum of Transportation - are seeking a total of $3.67 million toward operating expenses and $4.08 million for capital improvements for the 1996-98 biennium. That's an increase over current funding.
But put it in context. Center in the Square boasts 400,000 visitors annually. In paid public participation, it's the top cultural attraction in the state. And all these are public-private partnerships, leveraging state support with local and private money.
Education is the state's priority? The General Assembly may translate that into more funding for higher education - much-needed funding, we might add. But education includes opportunities for public-schoolchildren, too. More than 110,000 students from 51 school districts participate every year in cost-effective on-site and outreach programs, exhibits and performances by Center in the Square's resident organizations.
Economic development can't take a back seat? Since its opening, Center officials note, more than 100 new businesses have been established and more than $200 million has been invested in construction projects downtown, making the City Market area a center for culture, entertainment and education for Virginians not just in the Roanoke Valley, but throughout a broad region of the state.
In its 1996 legislative agenda, the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce cites the link between a vibrant cultural scene and a vibrant economy, encouraging state support not just for institutions in the valley but also for the American Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton and the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville.
Center in the Square, Explore Park, the Transportation Museum, the zoo are all part of a web of attractions generating visitor dollars multiplied in their economic impact on the Roanoke Valley. Meals, lodging and admissions taxes in Roanoke city and county, Salem, Vinton and Botetourt County, for example, totaled almost $12 million last year. That's not peanuts.
These attractions may look like pork to some politicians in Richmond representing other parts of the state. But in Western Virginia, they are assets valued not only for the tourist dollars they draw, but also for their enhancement of the quality of life amid these beautiful mountains. The attractions celebrate our history and our place without damaging our environment - and our history and place and environment are all part of Virginia's.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines KEYWORDS: MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FRONTIER CULTUREby CNB