FARGO - Fresh off last month's vote that nixed a proposed $40 million arena and events center, arts and civic leaders are discussing whether a performing arts center would benefit the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Fargo City Commissioner Linda Coates said there's been a deep and long-standing desire for such a facility, but the only way to get one built is to "put some real effort and energy into exploring exactly what it is that we need, what we can use, what we can pay for."

Coates, past executive director of both the Lake Agassiz Arts Council and the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, said the first step is to determine who would use the center and to what extent.

Margie Bailly, executive director of the Fargo Theatre, said the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation funded such a study in 1989 but the results need updating, as the city and downtown area have changed since then.

She said a new performing arts center would need a financial commitment from local government, as virtually all such facilities operate in the red.

"We have to understand, as a city, that if this is something we want, this is something the city has to commit to," Bailly said. "The city, at this point in time, has not committed to really significant funding for the arts."

Bob Anderson, program director for the Fargo-Moorhead Jazz Arts Group, envisions an arts mall that could include a 2,000-seat state-of-the-art theater that could be reconfigured for a number of uses.

The mall could include classroom and recital halls and office space for arts organizations. An "arts incubator" could provided telephones, office equipment and work space for smaller organizations that can't afford their own office space, Anderson said.

Others in Fargo-Moorhead's arts community are receptive to the idea, but some aren't sure how much they'd use a new center.

Fargo-Moorhead Opera officials said they'll likely use one if built.

Bill Law, executive director of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony, said a new performing arts center "is not a must-have," for the group.

Although Festival Hall doesn't have quite enough acoustic reverberation to provide a full orchestra sound, the symphony has gotten around the limitation by electronically pumping sound back to the stage and house, Law said.

The symphony currently does each of its major concerts twice in the 997-seat hall, with just some of its shows selling out.