Abe Ambroza describes what Lima will be able to get out of the Pangle Pavilion once it opens next Monday.
Jacob Espinosa/The Lima News
LIMA —Members of the Lima media got an up-close and personal look at the Pangle Pavilion and Greater Lima Region Amphitheater at a media day event Tuesday, ahead of next week’s ribbon cutting and opening weekend.
Officials from Lima Rotary and the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center gathered to show off what the venue looks like now that it is only a few sound and lighting updates away from being ready for use.
“This is just kind of an introduction to Pangle Pavilion,” Civic Center CEO Abe Ambroza said. “This space is basically ready to go. We’re still finishing some final touches on hanging our lights and sound for the shows, but we’re right here and we’re ready. If you didn’t think it was going to be ready for opening weekend, well, you are wrong.”
Although construction crews were hard at work in the lots surrounding the park, the pavilion has completely transformed into fully functional area with finished lawns, sidewalks, restrooms and, of course, the amphitheater section since ground broke on its construction in 2022.
“It’s been a long five years,” past president of Lima Rotary Tracie Sanchez said. “Progress started in 2017 and 2018 so we’re excited that we’re finally going to have our grand opening and the public will be able to experience this.”
But before things can really kick off, there still remains about a week of work to be done and it will continue through the weekend.
“We’ll have the big scissors out there for the ribbon cutting with the chamber of commerce to truly celebrate the opening of this space Monday afternoon and to me it will feel freeing,” Ambroza said. “We have about 10 to 11 days that will be pretty busy. We have the ribbon cutting and then the roast to the city, which is kind of a toast and a celebration to get us ready before the first night of concerts, will kick things off.”
Sanchez and Ambroza are both looking forward to the ribbon cutting, especially when it comes to recognizing the efforts of Lima Rotary.
“We’ll be right here on the pavilion stage,” Sanchez said. “The mayor will be speaking, Matt Huffman from the senate will speak and Jim Jordan will make a quick visit. It’s right after the Rotary meeting so we’ll just walk right over.”
“It will truly be here and we’ll be able to see the investment that the Rotary Club has made. This is going to do so much for the city of Lima and the surrounding areas with the culture and different shows that we can bring in and to have them as a part of that ribbon cutting with several local elected officials, we are looking forward to that important day.”
And if anyone is curious about checking out the space before it officially opens, it is easy to find and Ambroza said that they are more than welcome to observe it from the outside.
“If you’re passing by, feel free to get out of your car to take a look,” Ambroza said. “It’s not open to the public yet. The parks department will be handling that on the days we don’t have events here, but you can definitely walk around the outside and take a look from outside of the gates. It’s a really beautiful space and you should be proud of what Lima has.”
But after the space opens, Lima residents and visitors will be able to take full advantage of the pavilion as a park as long as there are no entertainment events booked there.
“The whole role of the Rotary Club is to make this a big community space so this is actually going to be a public park owned by the city to be open from dusk to dawn,” Sanchez said. “Private events can happen through the civic center, but you can throw frisbees and footballs or come read a book and have a picnic out on the lawn. The YMCA wants to have kickboxing and yoga classes so hopefully it’s just a big public space that we can all be proud of in downtown Lima that everyone can enjoy.”
For more information on the pavilion or to buy tickets to any of the opening weekend shows, visit the Civic Center website.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
