Brown County planning 2,000-seat concert hall project

NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A new 2,000-seat indoor music venue is being planned in southern Indiana's Brown County nearly eight years after fire destroyed its longtime concert hall.

The Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau says the planned $10 million facility in Nashville will host concerts, along with community functions and business events. Construction of the Maple Leaf Performing Arts Center would be paid from the county's 5 percent tax on motel room and cabin rentals.

Visitors bureau director Jane Ellis says the center will help attract more people to the rural community that's long been a tourism draw.

The new venue comes after attempts have stalled to rebuild the Little Nashville Opry, which was destroyed by arson in 2009.

If local officials approve project plans, the new center could open in 2019.