(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Lied Center at the University of Kansas has announced plans for a major expansion. The university will use money it had received in the form of a $7.5 million challenge grant from the Las Vegas-based Lied Foundation Trust and a $1 million pledge from a Lawrence, KS couple and Douglas County Bank.
Included in the expansion plans are an expanded lobby, an outdoor sculpture garden, a visual arts gallery, and an 800-seat theater.
Tim Van Leer, executive director of the Lied Center, told the Wichita Eagle that the new theater will be an ideal setting for “smaller, more intimate concerts,” such as string quartets. Currently, performances are held in the center’s 2,000-seat theater.
“It obviously give us a great deal of flexibility by having these two different-size facilities,” Van Leer continued.
The expansion will add 44,000 square feet to the center’s current 75,000 square feet. Construction dates are currently undetermined. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
