RENOVATION: THE MET PHILADELPHIA

A $58 million renovation returned Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Opera House to the center of the city’s cultural scene when the building opened as The Met Philadelphia in December. The structure, which takes up a full city block downtown, was among the largest surviving historic theaters remaining to be renovated; it opened in 1908 with 4,000 seats and has housed opera companies, a movie theater, sports and most recently a church. Live Nation, developer Eric Blumenfeld and the Holy Ghost Headquarters church formed the partnership that made it a magnet again for music, plus comedy and other events. It’s off to a big start, with Pollstar Boxoffice numbers showing it averaging more than 3,000 tickets sold and a $209,000 gross for reported dates.