Salisbury University Performing Arts Center receives $2 million in grant funding
SALISBURY, Md. – Salisbury University’s vision to bring a performing arts center to the heart of downtown got a big boost Monday from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
The department announced $2 million in grant funding for the project. That announcement coming at a press conference Monday in front of state and local leaders outside the Wicomico Library’s current Paul S. Sarbanes branch, the future site for the new Salisbury University Performing Arts Center.
“This is the seed money to really get this project started,” said Jake Day, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary.
The project was awarded $1 million through the State Revitalization Program Fund in Fiscal Year 2025, with another $1 million in Fiscal Year 2026.
Secretary Day said the project is expected to take four to five years to complete.
“This enables things to get started. Demolition, site preparation, architecture, engineering, planning etc. for the performing arts center in downtown Salisbury,” said Day.
Maarten Pereboom, Dean of the Fulton School of Liberal Arts at Salisbury University, said the center will be a hub for music, theatre and dance.
“While we have really strong programs at the university right now, we lack state of the art and specifically engineered spaces to support musical theatre production for example. So this space would have fly space, wing space, an orchestra pit, we have nothing like this on campus right now,” said Pereboom.
The $100 million dollar center is expected to have a large auditorium, smaller music and theatre space, a dance studio and performance support facilities, including classroom space.
It is also expected to have a significant annual economic impact bringing in opportunities for area businesses, help for pre-existing events, and expanded cultural programming.
“It’s really going to be, we hope, a game changer in terms of moving, not just Salisbury University, but the whole community forward,” said Pereboom.
The Wicomico Public Library is slated to move to the old Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art site on South Schumaker Drive.
Demolition of the current library building is expected to take place in 2026.
