May 1—LIMA — The Greater Lima Region Park and Amphitheater is $160,000 and a whole lot of turf closer to its completion, just in time for its planned August opening.

The outdoor events venue in downtown Lima received a pair of anonymous $50,000 donations. Nutrien added a second $50,000 donation to the project. Ohio Eagle Distributing, which recently bought the Anheuser Busch distributor in Lima, also donated $10,000, committee co-chair Tracie Sanchez announced during Monday's meeting of the Lima Rotary Club.

That's on top of great progress at the facility, where grass was scheduled to be planted this week. Crews will also construct the side beams at Pangle Pavilion that help hold the lights and speakers soon. Sod will also be brought in as well for the facility.

"Please pray for sunshine," Sanchez. "We have plenty of rain for it. Now we need some sunshine to make the grass grow."

The facility has its grand opening slated Aug. 3-5, with acts such as All-4-One, Lima native Al Jardine of the Beach Boys and Ian Munsick scheduled to appear. Tickets go on sale Saturday via Veterans Memorial Civic and Center Center, which manages the new venue's booking. Local entertainment will perform as opening acts.

Tickets can be purchased via the Civic Center or PanglePavilion.com.

The estimated $2.8 million facility is located in the Central District. The Ohio Facilities Commission provided $1.25 million of that. The rest has been through private donations, and Sanchez noted people can still donate to the project.

The park started as a Lima Rotary Club project but was donated to the city of Lima. The amphitheater is located between Spring and Elm Streets and is bordered by Union Street on the east and the back of buildings of Main Street on the west.

Abe Ambroza, CEO of the Civic Center, said 1,500 chairs will be placed at the front of the pavilion for concert-goers' comfort, and people will be able to purchase specific seats. Overall, the venue will have a capacity of nearly 3,600 for the opening weekend shows.

"We're really excited to get the ball rolling," Ambroza said.

Reach David Trinko at 567-242-0467 or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.