Philadelphia mayor John Street has been working behind the scenes to develop a new revenue stream that could provide between $50 million and $100 million annually to arts and cultural groups in the region, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Street is considering a number of funding mechanisms but is said to be favoring a surcharge on sports and entertainment events. According to the Inquirer, revenue raised by such a mechanism would be made available to arts and cultural groups as unrestricted funds to help with general operating costs and as matching grants to fund specific projects.

"If you could get that kind of money, then you could have a real impact," Street told the Inquirer. "When you compare the kinds of investments other regions are making in their arts and cultural activities, ours pales by comparison."

Such support cannot come a minute too soon, said Peggy Amsterdam, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. "If we wait much longer, our cultural institutions will be in peril," said Amsterdam, who is especially concerned about proposed cuts for the arts contained in the city's new budget. "If you have to cut [funding], find us another way to live. That's what a leader should do. I am absolutely thrilled. Maybe the old model is not the right model, and maybe he's on a search for a model that's going to be better for us."

Street also outlined to the Inquirer, a plan to remake the Benjamin Franklin Parkway into a museum row, which would entail moving institutions onto and off of the parkway, and would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.