SAN ANTONIO, December 23, 2008:
The Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation will deliver the Forensic Site Study of the Municipal Auditorium and the Fire Headquarters Building to Bexar County today as the first milestone in the journey toward building a new performing arts center in San Antonio.

"We are proud to be delivering this report completing the first milestone ahead of schedule," said J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., Chairman and President of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, "and we are particularly pleased that it contains good news about the potential for transforming these buildings into a world-class home for the performing arts in San Antonio."

The four-month study, performed by Raba Kistner Consultants, Inc. and Walter P. Moore Engineers provides a structural assessment of the Municipal Auditorium and the old San Antonio Fire Headquarters at Auditorium Circle. The study includes crucial engineering information about the overall integrity and underpinnings of the 80-year-old buildings.

"These are such beautiful buildings," said Dr. Carl Raba, founder and CEO of San Antonio-based Raba Kistner, "and to know they will be given a new life for decades to come is a very moving thing for us as San Antonians."

Both the Municipal Auditorium and the San Antonio Fire Headquarters Building date back to the 1920s. A devastating fire in 1979 completely gutted the interior of the auditorium. In 1985, the building was re-dedicated after extensive reconstruction. The report provides assurances about the integrity of the buildings and their ability to handle the necessary upgrades.

"The study reinforces the choice of the Municipal Auditorium as the site for the performing arts center," Bugg said. "It is an irreplaceable piece of San Antonio history, and it means a great deal to this community to see it given a new and more prominent role in the cultural life of our city."

The forensic study is the first step toward construction of the new performing arts center. The next milestone will be the presentation of a Program Study that will provide an assessment of community needs, space allocation, and an operational model for the performing arts center, confirming it can be built and operated within the cost structure contemplated in the Grant and Development Agreement. That study, to be completed on or before March 31, 2009, will provide the underpinnings for the design team search, to be undertaken in the spring of 2009.

"The project is moving forward on-time and with deliberation at each stage," Bugg said.

The Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization that is undertaking the renovation of the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium to build a world-class performing arts center for the citizens of South Texas. It currently owns the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium and the old San Antonio Fire Headquarters building to serve as the heart for San Antonio's cultural arts organizations. Upon completion of the renovations of the Municipal Auditorium, the Foundation will continue to own and operate the Municipal Auditorium and Fire Headquarters Building as the newly transformed Performing Arts Center.

On May 10th the voters of Bexar County approved the extension of the Venue Tax that will provide $100 million in funding for the Bexar County Performing Arts Center. With this public mandate, the Foundation will seek to raise an additional $32 million in private funding to renovate the historic auditorium and adjacent fire headquarters building.

The new mission-driven facility will celebrate the unique character of an historic property while offering state-of-the-art acoustical interior design. With access to the San Antonio River, the Bexar County Performing Arts Center will be a gateway to cultural arts for residents and visitors alike.

The renovated center will provide the venue for the San Antonio Symphony, San Antonio Opera and Ballet San Antonio, among many other performing arts groups. It is expected to open in 2013.