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Arts double the draw of pro sports in city

TWICE as many people attend the professional arts in Winnipeg compared to the number who attend professional sports.

The Winnipeg Arts Council¹s new Economic Impact Reports, released Tuesday, shows that the city's arts and creative industries contribute $1 billion to the economy and employ 6.3 per cent of the labour force, or 25,000 people.

The city's 12 professional arts and cultural groups fill 1.9 million seats each year, a figure that WAC executive director Carol Phillips says is double that of our three professional sports teams.

"I'm not surprised in any way," Phillips said in an interview Tuesday. "The level of cultural activity is obvious when you experience it. But when you've got numbers to back it up, you see the reality."

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