Visible signs of opera house renovations coming soon

By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
July 14, 2004
Just because there's not a lot of action on the outside doesn't mean there isn't a flurry of activity going on inside.
That lesson is especially true when talking about renovation of the Grand Opera House and its adjoining Marks-Rothenberg and Newberry buildings in downtown Meridian.
Dennis Sankovich, executive director of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center, which the buildings will house when renovation is complete, updated Meridian Civitan Club members on the project Tuesday.
Sankovich showed photographs of a bulldozer working in the first-floor interior of the Marks-Rothenberg building after flooring was removed and the support columns were being reinforced.
Renovated as it appeared in its prime, around the turn of the 20th Century, the Grand Opera House will include a 1,000-seat venue and a 220-seat studio theater as part of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center.
The center also will include conference areas and will house educational programs.
Owned by Mississippi State University, the $26 million renovation project is scheduled to be completed in 2005.
The Sankovich File
Dennis Sankovich became executive director of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center in Meridian in March after serving as executive director of The Ritz
Theatre in Tiffin, Ohio, since 1988.
Sankovich has served as a board member and treasurer of the League of Historic American Theaters. He holds a bachelor's degree in performing arts management and a master's degree in public administration in nonprofit organization management from the University of Toledo.