It was a dream come true.

“It’s certainly everything that I every would’ve wanted. It has exceeded expectations as far as programming,” said Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center Executive Director Tom Tomlinson. “Everybody who walks in is amazed. They say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe it’s in Bowling Green.’ We couldn’t be more pleased.”

When the 74,500-square-foot SKyPAC opened its doors on March 10, more than 1,800 people streamed into the auditorium to hear country singer Vince Gill, who stepped in after original opening night act LeAnn Rimes canceled her appearance at the last minute due to illness. The concert was sold out. People snapped up tickets for some of the center’s Broadway series shows, such as “Cats” and “Mamma Mia!”

Now that opening night has long passed, Tomlinson has time to reflect that the center’s first season, which ended in June and drew about 40,000 people.

“We did really well. We ended on budget. Our subscriptions are 90 percent renewed for the Broadway series. People seem to like it here,” he said. “From a program standpoint, the performances are well-received. We have doubled up on the season. Our education programming continues to grow.”

SKyPAC was 12 years in the making. Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon and SKyPAC Inc. Chairman Rick McCue were on the board of the Capitol Arts Alliance for a few years. Both are past presidents. They were two of many who thought that, while the Capitol was valuable to the community, there was a limitation on the type of productions that could be held there and that a facility like SKyPAC could draw more residential and business development to the downtown area.

“People judge a city by the character of its downtown. It’s the first impression of a city you visit,” Buchanon told the Daily News in March. “We already have a beautiful downtown. I think we can have one of the most beautiful downtown communities, and we can help develop future urban living because of SKyPAC, because of that quality of life that it gives to the downtown area.”

At the request of several people in the community, state Rep. Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, managed to secure $6.7 million in the state budget for seed money for SKyPAC. There was also additional funding, including county tax revenue bonds and Bowling Green’s Tax Increment Financing district.

Stewart-Richey Construction worked with Alliance Corp. on the building. David Butler, vice president of Alliance Corp. and SKyPAC project manager, said the project began with demolition in the fall and early winter of 2009 and the start of the foundation in 2010. The entire building – inside and outside – was nearly completed, but rain made things difficult to complete.

“The building was completed enough for (opening night),” he said. Since then, “we’ve doubled the size of the initial parking lot in the rear.”

The next item on the agenda is the opening of SKyPAC’s amphitheater, which is scheduled for this fall. Attention has been focused on creating a retaining wall to support the sloping ground, an infrastructure which will house the lighting and speaking system, and laying grass in the amphitheater, Butler said. So far, SKyPAC is in good shape.

“They’ve been doing a fantastic job of maintaining it,” he said. “We’re very proud of being a part of it.”

Tomlinson is looking forward to what the next season will bring.

“Things have been enormously successful” he said. “We’re really pleased.”

— For more information about SKyPAC, visit www.theskypac.com.

“People judge a city by the character of its downtown. It’s the first impression of a city you visit. We already have a beautiful downtown. I think we can have one of the most beautiful downtown communities, and we can help develop future urban living because of SKyPAC, because of that quality of life that it gives to the downtown area.”