Despite what the sign in front of the Center Street lot says, it may not be the future home of the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center.

Western officials and SKyPAC board members talked over winter break about the possibility of the arts center being built in downtown Bowling Green instead of on the proposed site just north of the Hill.

President Gary Ransdell said Western is taking a neutral stance on the issue.

“We’d like to see SKyPAC next to campus,” he said. “But if it goes downtown, we can do that too.”

Ransdell said that if SKyPAC is not built next to Western, the land initially reserved for SKyPAC will likely be used to build the Greek Village.

Using land which is already partially owned by Western could save as much as $1 million in university funding for the village, Ransdell said.

Rick McCue, chairman of the SKyPAC board, said no downtown site has been suggested.

“It’s all very preliminary at this point,” he said.

It’s too early to say whether or not board members will follow up on the offer, McCue said. Some SKyPAC members are still unaware of the proposal to build downtown.

The SKyPAC board will hold a meeting later this month to discuss the possibility of moving, he said.

“For right now, we’re pretty much committed to where we are because of the investment that’s been made,” he said.

SKyPAC owns part of the land the arts center is to be built on and has an agreement with Western to lease land owned by the university.

Charley Pride, director of student activities and organizations, said the possible move of the village site hasn’t been discussed with many Greek organizations because it’s so early in the planning stage.

Stetson Dickerson, president of Sigma Chi fraternity, said his organization doesn’t have a preference where the Greek Village is located.

“We really want to be a part of it,” he said.

Sigma Chi bought land last summer to build a new house on the corner of 13th Avenue and Center Street, within the originally proposed site.

Reach Joshua Coffman at [email protected].