OCEAN CITY – The new auditorium and performing arts stage at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center was receiving its finishing touches this week with the kick-off event scheduled for Wednesday.
“We are about 98 percent complete as of a couple hours ago. It is changing by the minute. We are in the cleaning process right now,” Convention Center Director Larry Noccolino said on Wednesday. “I am so surprised looking at the 98 percent finished product. I really didn’t think it was going to turn out as beautiful as it is. It is just amazing, it really is.”
The new Performing Arts Center (PAC) will host concerts, musicals and theatrical productions as well as seminars with its state-of-the-art equipment and two tiered seating with a total of 1,200 seats, dressing rooms, concession areas and a box office.
The construction of the PAC is the second phase of a major convention center expansion that began on Oct. 20, 2013 with demolition work in the old sections of Hall C on the ground floor of the convention center and a demising wall going up on the second floor in what used to be part of Halls A and B. The floor-to-ceiling demising wall separates the relatively new bay-front ballroom on the second floor that was part of the first phase.
The second phase cost $14 million and is being funded in part by the state through the Maryland Stadium Authority at $5.7 million. The Town of Ocean City is funding the remaining $8.3 million, which is covered by a 2013 bond issue.
The kick-off event will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 10, with Worcester County Economic Development proudly presenting the 2015 Economic Development Summit in conjunction with the Ocean City Economic Development Committee. Registration with light refreshments begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program from 9:15 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The event is featuring economist Anirban Basu with an economic update for Worcester County, Ocean City and the Lower Eastern Shore plus an update on Maryland offshore wind.
To register for this free event in advance, contact Merry Mears at [email protected].
The second event to be held in the new PAC is the “Deep in the Heart of Christmas” show by the Texas Tenors starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13. The Texas Tenors sing Country, Pop, Classical, Broadway and much more in what is being billed by the city as a “fun filled entertaining show.”