Dallas PAC Debut

The AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas held grand opening festivities Oct. 12-16 that included a free concert by David Sanborn.

The $354 million PAC houses the 2,200-capacity Winspear Opera House and 575-capacity Wyly Theatre. The state-of-the-art complex will also add an outdoor venue that can accommodate up to 5,000 by next year and a 750-capacity performance hall by 2011.

The facility is located within a 19-block arts district that already includes the 2,062-capacity Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Fundraising for the PAC began in 2000 and has reportedly brought in more than $337 million so far including a $16.5 million endowment.

Events on the books so far are performances of “Jazz Roots” and “South Pacific,” a concert by Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Ramsey Lewis Nov. 4 and Billy Crystal’s “700 Sundays” Nov. 17-22.