MERIDIAN, Miss. – The proposed Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center is one step closer to becoming a reality, but there are still several factors that need to fall into place. Wednesday, the Miss. House passed a bill that would provide $25 million in public funding for facility over 5 years, but it still needs to clear the Senate and have the Governor’s approval.
“There will very likely be an entirely different bill that brings forward these bonds,” said State Representative Greg Snowden. “Likely it will be one large bond bill that this one will be included in.”
The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center was first proposed back in 2002 to be built in downtown Meridian. So far, $13 million has already been pledged by private sources for the facility’s estimated $45 million price tag.
“It’s a multifaceted sort of facility. It will be a museum, it will be a hall of fame, they’ll have recording studios there, there will be interactive sort of exhibits.”
Snowden says the facility will be another way for the state to further illustrate the impact Mississippians have had on music and the arts, and he hopes it will one day serve as a major tourism attraction.
