This weekend marks the grand opening for the new Marathon Center for the Performing Arts in Findlay.
The $18 million center will not only be a stop for traveling shows, it will also be a home for the entire arts community.
After the floods of 2007, the state told the City of Findlay to tear down the old Central Middle School building. That is when serious talk began about converting the school's auditorium into a regional theater.
And after tearing down the school building, Findlay Schools sold the auditorium to the Hancock County Performing Arts Center Board for $1.
“Well, the only other option was to build it from the ground up, and that would have cost considerably more money,” said Ed Reading, chairman on the Hancock County Performing Arts Center Board.
Now, three years later, the new center is ready to open.
The center features a 960 seat, state-of-the-art theater, family lounge, an art gallery, and a second black box theater space, which the facility expects to be brimming with activity year round.
And through their partnerships with local schools, universities, and other art groups; the center will also host art classes and workshops.
“This facility will truly serve the community as an education space, as an opportunity to practice your art, whether it be clay, painting, music - it's going to be an all-purpose facility,” said Reading.
This weekend’s opening act is a tour show of the Broadway musical "The Toy Shoppe,” written by Kenny Rogers and starring Alan Thicke.
Friday's showing is already sold out, but tickets are still available for Saturday's performance.
