By Scott Pearson

Staff Writer

If you build it they will come.

That's the hope at least for the city of Lewisburg with a newly awarded tourism grant.

The city will use the $50,000 Tourism Development Grant to improve the current stage facility in Rock Creek Park.

"We hope that we can get bigger, better acts into town if we have a better facility," said Lewisburg City Manager Randall Dunn.

The plans call for a better roof that would cover all of the concrete areas of the stage area and upgrades to the lighting set up.

Dunn said that in the past some acts that were interested in playing in Lewisburg were not able to come due to the current stage setup.

The grants are aimed at improving tourism infrastructure in rural counties, stages included as a particular feature.

Dunn says if everything goes according to plan the work should be complete in time for the festival season.

The city was unsuccessful in the first round of grants under this program but was chosen in this second round of grants. Lewisburg is one of 29 cities and counties chosen from 50 applications.

The grants are one of several similar grant programs in the state's Rural Economic Opportunity Act, designed to improve economic opportunities in the state's more rural counties.