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HAWKINS TEAGUE / Ledger & Times
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Regional Special Events Center celebrating 10 years
By HAWKINS TEAGUE
Staff Writer
What started as a dream about 30 years ago has now been a reality for 10 years and Murray State University's Regional Special Events Center is still one of western Kentucky's biggest draws for performers and conventions.
Jason Pittman, facility manager for the last two years, said that since RSEC opened on Sept. 12, 1998, 1.6 million people have walked through its doors. He said it was exciting to see the facility come together during his senior year at Calloway County High School and that he was eager to work there after starting college in the fall of 1998.
RSEC didn't waste time booking an extremely popular musician to welcome the public to the new venue. Country singer Tim McGraw played the first concert there on Sept. 26. The event drew about 8,000 people, according to the Sept. 28 edition of the Ledger & Times.
“That was exciting,” Pittman said. “The line stretched around the door and outside. It was pretty cool but nerve-wracking. (McGraw's wife) Faith Hill was there. They had just had their second child, so she was there with the baby.”
Since that night, the list of performers and speakers booked by RSEC has been quite impressive for a place in a town the size of Murray. A quick look at the framed, autographed posters in the lobby's side office reveals signatures by Kenny Chesney, Kanye West, the Drifters, Nickelback, Guster, John Mayer and Brad Paisley. Pittman said that family acts like Sesame Street Live, Disney on Ice, Ringling Brothers Circus and the Doodlebops have been some of the best-selling acts RSEC has hosted in its history.
“We're a secondary market, so you have to find out who's coming through the area at the right time,” he said. “The stars and moons sort of have to align and you have to get the right price.”
RSEC has also hosted two appearances by the popular comedian Larry the Cable Guy and one by Sinbad, but those are the only two comics so far, Pittman said.
“I think we're very fortunate to have this facility in our community,” he said. “The cultural benefits and the economic impact has been enormous.”
One of its more notable functions is for basketball. The RSEC is home to Murray State University's men's and women's basketball teams, which have been showcased nationally through broadcasts on ESPN's family of stations, and also hosts the annual First Region boys and girls basketball tournaments.
RSEC's impact extends beyond the walls of the building. RSEC took over control of Lovett Auditorium in 2002 and many musicians have appeared since then, as well as political figures like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who spoke at Lovett only nine months before she was assassinated in December 2007.
Upcoming performances include the bluegrass sounds of the Del McCoury Band on Nov. 7 and a Christmas concert with Michael W. Smith backed by MSU's symphony orchestra on Dec. 1.
Jim Carter, Murray State University's Vice-President of Institutional Advancement, said that there had been promises from the university about a facility to replace Racer Arena, built in 1954, sometime before he graduated from MSU in 1979. He said the talk began getting more serious around 1978 when the basketball program was showing big signs of progress.
In the early ‘90s, the state pledged to fund most of what would become a $23 million project as long as $2 million could be raised locally. Carter said the extra money was raised through premiums for tickets, parking and access to the arena, but the university also asked donors for gifts.
In 1995, the project finally started to take off. Shelley Todd started as facility manager several months before the official opening and RSEC hosted the Kentucky Baptist Youth Conference in June 1998 before the final touches on the building were complete.
Carter said RSEC has been a boon to the community by providing a great venue for basketball games, commencement ceremonies, trade shows, concerts and other events. He said it is known nationwide because performers like the way they are treated when they come to Murray and talk with each other and promoters in the business about it.
“We have been able to deliver everything that we promised,” Carter said. “The only thing we haven't been able to do that we said we would do is have wrestling.”
Story created Oct 18, 2008 - 01:37:10 EDT.
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