Metra Park Open For Business

Metra Park is the big story in town this week and weekend. The Women of Faith show at the arena and the rock concert on Sunday will be talked about for a long time to come. Cat Country had the chance to go behind the scenes at Metra Park today to give you the scoop on what you might see. More importantly what you might hear.

One of the biggest complaints about Metra Park was its sound. Echos were everywhere in the old building to the point you almost couldn't hear the performers and their music. I sat in the Metra box for the last country show at Metra before the tornado. The audio was really tough for anyone, much less old disc jockeys with ringing in their ears 24 hours a day.

Father's Day 2010

The Father's Day tornado has been talked about almost daily for the past 10 months. If there's ever been a story of making lemonade out of lemons, the story of Metra Park is that story. While touring the building, the Women of Faith setup was ongoing. There was a little jazz background music playing. You could scarcely hear an echo at all. And this was with an empty building. No people in the seats to help absorb sound. If the sound was going to be bad, it would have shown all the warts then.

You will be impressed. The concession stands have been brightened and re-done. Both shows this week and weekend have special entry processes and parking. The official grand re-opening of Metra Park is June 19--one year to the day of the Father's Day tornado, so not everything is in place yet.

Women Of Faith Information

If you are planning to attend the Women Of Faith event, here's special information on entering and parking at the arena.

Elton John Concert Information

For those attending Sunday's concert featuring Elton John and his band, there are a different set of guidelines based on the size of the crowd. Here's the info you'll need provided by Metra Park.

Metra Park represents a large benefit for us. There are great events to see and money brought into town spent at local businesses. It's a large growth engine for the area.

I can't wait for you to see it.