After running an estimated $700,000 deficit since 2003, UApresents is projected to break even in two years if the program merges with the UA's theater arts program, said President Peter Likins.

Likins said UApresents, which operates as an auxiliary entertainment enterprise, could join the UA's College of Fine Arts after it gets back in the black by the 2007 fiscal year.

However, the program's deficit is expected to grow worse this year, reaching $846,800 in debt after losing an additional $225,000 in ticket sales last semester from the musical "Hairspray."

Although the debt was expected to reach $1.5 million this year, efforts to scale back losses, including canceling five shows, cutting three staff jobs, outsourcing marketing and increasing donations have been successful, Likins said.

"The matter is now coming under control," Likins told the Arizona Board of Regents on Friday, when they updated the fiscal year 2005 operating budget.

Earlier this semester, an anonymous donor guaranteed the program $50,000 while the UA agreed to donate $75,000 if the program raised $100,000 before June 30.

Will Seberger, spokesman for UApresents, said the organization is trying to hold this year's losses at $250,000 to $300,000 by actively marketing ticket sales rather than relying on donors.

"It's highly unlikely that one donor is going to swoop in and give us the $600,000 we need to unbury ourselves," Seberger said.

Regents approve $1.2 million for Architecture building expansion

Regents approved the UA's request for an additional $1.2 million to add 33,500 gross square feet of new space to the Architecture building.

Joel Valdez, senior vice president for business affairs at the UA, said that although the project's $8.2 million budget was approved November 2003, more funds are needed due to increases in the cost of construction materials.

Since last year, the electrical costs have increased by 24 percent, concrete prices raised 27 percent, while the cost of steel has risen by 50 percent, Valdez said.

However, Valdez told the regents that requests for budget increases would not become a pattern since the cost of construction materials in Southern Arizona should stabilize in the near future.

UA med school may move to Phoenix

The UA's medical school plans to expand to a location in Phoenix by January 2006 after regents approved the measure Thursday.

The expansion would feature dual tracks in Phoenix and Tucson, with each school emphasizing different areas of study, said Gary Stuart,Regent's president.

The school in Phoenix will host hundreds of residences and be expansive in primary teaching methods.

"There's a dramatic change in American medicine, and lots of med schools are going through the same process," Stuart said.

Stuart said the expansion will "inevitably be a success" because Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the United States and it is without a medical school.

UA will auction parcels of Marana Agricultural Center

Regents also granted the UA permission to sell at auction 205 acres of the Marana Agricultural Center in Marana. Three parcels comprise the rectangular area used for large-scale field research projects and fungus research by cotton breeders and plant pathologists.

A farm shop, garage and three storage buildings have been added to the land since the UA acquired it in the 1950s. Valdez said the agriculture department declared the land surplus and will move the facility to Red Rock.

Valdez said the land is appraised at $10.3 million, but the university is asking for $16.5 million. He said the UA might hold the auction in May.

Valdez said the proceeds would be dedicated to an endowment with the College of Agriculture.