Once again, the strange mix of sports, culture and politics that pervades life in Pittsburgh will have an impact on the city's arts organizations in a positive way, starting next week.

In the 2007 budget approved Dec. 18, Pittsburgh city government cut its amusement tax on nonprofit cultural groups to 1.25 percent, saving the city's opera, symphony and other performing arts institutions an estimated $300,000 to $500,000 total next year.

Few, if any, are expected to lower their ticket prices because of the tax cut, instead using the extra funds to keep prices stable and help pad their budgets.

"In the short run I don't think it's going to have a big impact on the cost of tickets, but I think over time it's going to be extremely important," said Larry Tamburri, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra president.

The tax on ticket sales for entertainment events is a far cry from the city's crippling 10 percent amusement tax assessed in the early 1990s, when it was among the highest cultural taxes in the country and blamed for big concert tours and other productions skipping the town.

Pittsburgh's cultural leaders battled the tax for years, arguing that it was hurting the arts, which, through the leadership of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and other groups, were one of the few things keeping Downtown's heart beating through tough financial times.

They won an amusement tax cut to 5 percent when the Regional Asset District tax was implemented in 1995 in Allegheny County. Its proceeds are spread to municipalities, libraries and cultural spots, including the city's football and baseball stadiums.

It took another decade to win more cuts in the tax.

"We've been on this case for many, many, many years -- a tax on the nonprofits inhibits a sector of the economy that's really working here," said Mark Weinstein, chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council and general director of the Pittsburgh Opera.

"Almost uniformly everyone [in government] said we're absolutely in favor of getting rid of this, this is a bad tax ... but the city always needed the money. The arts always recognized it was impossible, when the city needed so much money just to stay alive, to justify [cutting the tax]."

"We're the only city in the U.S. that taxes nonprofit arts organizations -- every other city that has an amusement tax has approved an exemption," complained City Council's Arts Committee Chairman William Peduto, a longtime campaigner against the tax.

The trick was finding a new revenue stream to replace amusement taxes, which is where sports came in again, just as they did with RAD.

State government approved Pittsburgh bailout legislation in November 2004 that, most significantly, raised worker taxes to $52 annually and placed new payroll taxes on employers. Legislators also tied new cuts in the city amusement tax to a new tax on visiting athletes and other for-profit performers, called the "non resident sports facility usage fee."

The new fee raised $1.4 million in 2005 and is expected to generate $2.25 million next year.

"This is a big win for the city to have worked with the arts to lower a tax on local small business people," said Mr. Weinstein, "and at the same time, the city is gaining more revenue from a new source, from mostly people who live out of town. It is a fantastic win."

Amusement taxes raise about $9 million for the city every year, most of them paid by for-profit sports teams and concert promoters.

The state-mandated amusement tax cut was only extended to nonprofit performing arts groups, the largest -- in terms of ticket sales -- being the Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony, Pittsburgh Opera, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

The 2004 state legislation required the city to cut the amusement tax to 2.5 percent, which it did for 2006.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl proposed cutting the tax next year to 1.25 percent, to the delight of arts leaders, who had lobbied late Mayor Bob O'Connor to cut the tax.

"We expected [Mr. Ravenstahl] to say 'That was another administration and I'll look it,' but instead he said, 'Yes, I believe in this.'

"It absolutely stunned me that he would embrace something so fast and decisively," Mr. Weinstein said.

In his 2007 budget address, Mr. Ravenstahl said the tax was "inhibiting growth and development" Downtown.

"We will voluntarily cut the amusement tax for nonprofit groups by 50 percent -- because we know that supporting the arts is an important component of economic growth and Pittsburgh's vitality," he said.

Mr. Peduto, who is Mr. Ravenstahl's likely rival in next year's special Democratic primary for mayor, questioned how voluntary the cut was, saying the city should have cut the tax completely this year, using proceeds from the sports fee.

"What is not voluntary is for the city to do anything less than eliminate it," he said.

Mr. Ravenstahl's finance director, Scott Kunka, said the city will lose about $300,000 by cutting the tax but will still see growth in overall amusement tax revenue due to expected ticket price increases.

The city's $420 million budget will get a boost from gambling receipts and state grants next year, so it "was in a position with some extra dollars out there to accelerate" the tax cut, Mr. Kunka said.

The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council's estimates were a tad higher, saying arts organizations will pay about $500,000 less in taxes next year.

There is another history lesson to be learned from fights over the tax: Just because the tax on tickets is going down, that does not mean ticket prices will.

Only the Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their ticket prices after the 10 percent amusement tax was cut to 5 percent in 1995.

Mr. Weinstein said nonprofit organizations getting tax relief were more likely to freeze ticket prices or use the savings to pay for education and staffing costs.