Latest news with #AaronRekich
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meadville community leaders break ground on new outdoor amphitheater
Community leaders in Meadville broke ground on a new outdoor amphitheater expected to become a hub for entertainment, celebrations, and gatherings of all kinds. What's being named the PNC Pavilion will be built at the Meadville Area Recreation Complex. Millcreek government study commission works for finalize recommendation The renderings show it to be a covered stage, and seating surrounding the pavilion can hold up to 900 people. The executive director said Meadville residents have been asking for new things to do in the community, and they figured this entertainment venue could be an excellent place to start. Erie Philharmonic presents new Beatles themed multimedia show 'So there's so many things that we know we want to use this for. Preschool graduations, dance classes, art classes, yoga, concerts, benefits, family reunions, just anything anybody can come up with. That's one good thing about the Marc is we believe that there's something here for everybody,' said Aaron Rekich, executive director of the Meadville Area Recreation Complex. Construction on the pavilion is expected to be completed by the end of this summer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Amphitheater coming to the MARC
The Meadville Area Recreation Complex (MARC) — already home to an ice rink, two swimming pools, a baseball field, tennis courts, a community garden and walking trails — will soon add an amphitheater to its long list of amenities. Construction of the covered stage, which will be located at the end of the upper parking lot in front of the George S. DeArment Ice Arena, is expected to be completed by July 31 and is already factoring into summer plans at the complex. 'We're moving the ReMARCable to August,' Executive Director Aaron Rekich told members of the board that oversees the MARC earlier this month. For the past several years, the Meadville is ReMARCable Festival, a community thank-you event with free swimming and a full slate of other activities, has taken place in late July. The addition of the amphitheater is expected to widen the appeal of the community fixture that celebrated its 50th anniversary while simultaneously generating additional income. Using a rented stage, Rekich reminded board members, the MARC BBQ and Music Festival made approximately $27,000 in 2019. On top of occasional concerts, the new amphitheater could be used for anything from graduation ceremonies to family reunions, Rekich said, to the benefit of the facility's annual budget which this year climbed to $980,477. 'I have met with a few groups that want to use it,' Rekich said regarding prospects for revenue. Dick Astor, a member of both the board that oversees the MARC as well as the board of its related foundation, envisioned possible summertime dance recitals or puppetry performances taking place on the covered stage in front of a parking lot packed with people in camp chairs. 'If you have an amphitheater, you can do a lot of different things,' Astor said in an interview this week. 'Little things like that generate small amounts of money that end up being substantial — and help balance the budget.' The 49-by-23.5-foot stage was modeled after a similar structure in Greenville's Riverside Park, Rekich said, and will be built by Fuller Building Group of Meadville. Fuller's bid of $190,725 was the lowest of three received for the project. Construction is being supported by an anonymous donation of $125,000 dedicated specifically for the project to Meadville Area Recreation Foundation. Rekich said two additional donations are anticipated to support the cost. The foundation will use additional fundraising and existing funds to pay for the remainder, with no cost coming from the MARC's operating expenses. In conjunction with the amphitheater project, the city of Meadville will pave the upper parking lot that will provide a seating area for the structure, Rekich told board members when they authorized the construction. The addition of the amphitheater will result in the loss of a small paved area at the end of the lot, according to Rekich. Although actually a turnaround, the area in question is more often used as two parking spaces in the often crowded lot. The board's approval came with a 7-1 vote. The lone dissenter was Rob Horvat, one of three Vernon Township representatives on the 12-person board. While several board members cited the sizable donation as a persuasive reason to pursue the project, Horvat questioned whether the amphitheater was needed. 'Getting an amphitheater wasn't in our five-year plan,' board member Shayna Morrison acknowledged, 'but I think because money was given specifically for that, it was like, are you going to turn that down?' 'I get it — we got money specifically for this,' Horvat replied, 'but it's already over budget and now we're fundraising for more money. We could be fundraising more money for something else that might actually be more critical to the operations.' Horvat also raised questions about ongoing maintenance. 'It's one more thing we have,' he said. 'It's not like everything we have is in top shape as it is and we're adding another thing to the facilities.' Rekich said that a plan was in place to provide maintenance at a cost of $5,000 per year for five years and emphasized the potential for attracting visitors who do not currently use the MARC. 'I think it is something that is needed in the city,' he said. Calling the structure 'ridiculously expensive,' Morrison disagreed on the need for an amphitheater but described it as a fun addition. 'We can do things with it,' she said. 'We can do all kinds of programming with it.' Board member John Ziegler said the planned amphitheater was unlikely to duplicate existing resources in the area, such as the summer concert series at Whispering Pines Golf Course in Vernon Township. More likely, according to Ziegler, is that the amphitheater will prove a selling point as the MARC continues its efforts to win support from Vernon and West Mead Townships, the city of Meadville and Crawford Central School District, which contribute a combined $276,500 to the MARC's annual budget. 'I see this more as a community niche, so I don't feel it's competing with Whispering Pines,' Ziegler said. 'I think it just broadens our value of the MARC to the community.'
