AT&T Supports Performing Arts with $5 Million Gift to the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation

Restoration of San Antonio Municipal Auditorium Partially Funded by $5 Million AT&T Gift, Largest Ever to the Performing Arts in San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas.-AT&T (NYSE:T), today announced a $5 million gift to the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation to help fund a “world class” permanent home to major performing arts organizations of San Antonio.

The center is envisioned as a premiere venue for a variety of attractions that will enhance the range, quality, and accessibility of cultural activities available to the public.

The Foundation will also promulgate arts education and contribute to the cultural life of San Antonio, Bexar County and all of South Texas.

“The Foundation has a mandate from the citizens of this community to build a performing arts center that will strengthen the downtown community and be the heart of San Antonio’s cultural district,” said J. Bruce Bugg, president and chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation. “AT&T’s gift shows confidence in this project and gets us well on the way to making San Antonio a true destination for the arts.”

The Foundation is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to own, operate, and undertake the renovation of the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium to build a world-class performing arts center.

“A great city needs a great performing arts center,” said John Stankey, group president, Telecom Operations for AT&T Inc. “This world-class venue is vital to enhancing the range, quality and accessibility of cultural activities, fostering arts education, and contributing to the cultural life of San Antonio.”

“AT&T’s generosity can be felt in every corner of our city,” said Bugg. “With this $5 million gift AT&T is continuing its investment in San Antonio.”

In late spring, voters in Bexar County approved the extension of the county venue tax. $100 million was earmarked for the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation with the stipulation the Foundation would raise the additional $32 million in private funding to renovate the existing auditorium and adjacent fire headquarters.

The space, once renovated, will provide one large theater, one smaller venue, rehearsal facilities, educational spaces, and administrative offices. With access to the San Antonio River Walk, the Bexar County Performing Arts Center will be a gateway to cultural arts for residents and visitors alike.

“For more than 80 years, Municipal Auditorium has occupied a storied and central place in the world of San Antonio’s cultural arts, including the San Antonio Symphony, Ballet and Opera,” said San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger. “We’re happy that AT&T is a partner in this effort to restore this magnificent property to a place of glory in our city.”

“For too many years San Antonio’s performing arts organizations have gone without a facility they could call their own,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “But with AT&T’s generosity and the rest of the community’s support of this worthwhile project, I am confident the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation is going to deliver an outstanding permanent home for these groups.”

The project will be a collaborative endeavor seeking input from area performing arts organizations, community groups, and citizens.