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Art connoisseurs are already reveling in the expanded offerings that will deck out Crocker Art Museum's new wing.

But art lovers won't be the only ones to benefit. The capital's economic vitality is expected to get a big boost when the 125,000-square-foot expansion triples the museum's size upon opening next year.

"I think it's going to really elevate Sacramento's visibility as a cultural destination," said Michelle Alexander, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Sacramento. "Cultural tourism is a big, key factor in economic health."

In the next few weeks, construction crews will begin building the connection from the contemporary new wing to the future education studio in the main Art Gallery Building, a Victorian Italianate structure built in the 1870s.

The expansion will quadruple the museum's exhibition space and add room for flood-protected storage and collection maintenance on the second floor. The wing also will include a 7,000-square-foot courtyard, café, 300-seat auditorium and dramatic, two-story atrium that can be used for events of 400 to 1,200 people (with the use of the courtyard). Construction will include systems to control temperature, humidity and security.

The added space will permit museum curators to sort through Crocker's growing collection and allow much more of that collection — 20 percent as opposed to less than 4 percent — to be exhibited. Crocker has had "unprecedented" collection growth thanks to the expansion, said LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Crocker's director of marketing communications.

The structure with an aluminum and zinc exterior was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects of New York and is being built by Rudolph and Sletten of Redwood City. The design maintains the gallery building as the architectural focal point for the complex at Second and O streets.

As the oldest art museum west of the Mississippi River, the Crocker is one of the capital's primary tourist attractions. Art museums like this are a big magnet for travelers and the money they spend in town, said Leslie Fritzsche, downtown division manager for the city's Economic Development Department.

"With the increase in tourism, that impacts the use of hotels and restaurants," she said. "So there's a great spin-off effect."

National media attention showcasing Sacramento as a cultural and travel destination can boost real estate, construction industries and property value, Alexander said.

Each year, Sacramento sees an average 17 million leisure and business visitors who spend a total $2.4 billion, said Mike Testa, vice president of communications for the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau.

About 95,000 people visit the Crocker each year. The expanded museum should draw people from the San Francisco Bay Area and other parts of the state, he said.

The art museum and four others within about a mile of each other are creating a "string of pearls" in terms of the city's cultural offerings, said Beth Tincher, a senior project manager with the Economic Development Department. That, in turn, will impact other economic growth, such as the development of the Docks Area just across the freeway, she added.

"We always think of this critical mass of attractions," Testa said. "Really, the more museums we have, the more people we're going to attract because of the diversity."

The city's cultural attractions contribute to residents' quality of life, and that, in turn, is factored into companies' decisions on where to be located, said Fritzsche and Alexander.

"As Sacramento improves its branding as an arts destination, we increase our ability to attract high-level talent and corporate headquarters from other large metropolitan cites," said Alexander. "We become a city and culture worth investing in."