The Lied Center for Performing Arts marked a major milestone Tuesday with a topping-off celebration for its Building the Future addition and renovation project. The event recognized the placement of the final steel beam for the addition. Lied Center Executive Director Bill Stephan said the steel work represented an important step forward for the project.
“Today marks the topping-off celebration of the Lied Center’s construction for the Building the Future project,” Stephan says. The project includes renovations inside the Lied Center as well as an 11,150-square-foot expansion. Stephan said construction was expected to continue for about another year, with the project scheduled for completion next fall.
The celebration included a look back at the history of the Lied Center, a preview of what the completed project will look like, live music from the Lied Center Brass and an opportunity for attendees to sign the final beam.
Stephan said the expansion will include improvements to accessibility and the overall patron experience, including upgraded concession areas and a new studio theater. The studio theater will provide a smaller performance space for local performers, students and community organizations.
“If you’re a senior at the University of Nebraska and you want to have a concert, your senior recital, you could have it at the Lied Center,” Stephan says. “It would be a really great space for the community to connect with the Lied Center.”
Stephan emphasized that the Lied Center remained open during construction and was preparing for one of its biggest seasons of programming. “We’re not closed at all,” Stephan tells KLIN News “Even if you drive by, you might think, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of construction at the Lied Center.’ Know that inside the theater, things are booming.”
Stephan said the Building the Future project was made possible largely through private donations and expressed appreciation for the support from people across Nebraska. “When this project is done, it’s going to be even more amazing than it has ever been,” Stephan tells KLIN News. “I can’t wait to welcome everyone in when the project’s complete.”
(Photo: Lied Center)