Little Nashville May Rise Again

Little Nashville Opry may rise from the ashes thanks to an Indiana business owner and radio host who plans to rebuild the concert hall that burned down in 2009.

Scott Wayman was the only bidder in an April 17 county tax commissioners sale for what’s left of the central Indiana venue, submitting the minimum $58,000 bid. He’ll have to wait 120 days to take possession of the site to see whether the current owner can pony up about $120,000 in back taxes, according to Indiana’s Herald-Times.

“We do plan to rebuild the Opry,” Wayman said. “My parents and myself, along with other friends, had season tickets for years.”

Wayman has hosted a morning show on WCBK-FM of Martinsville, Ind., for nearly 30 years and owns a furniture store there with his parents. He said he had looked into buying the 2,000-seat hall before the fire and wants to have a similar venue there again.

Little Nashville Opry opened in 1975 and hosted artists including Johnny Cash, George Strait, the Oak Ridge Boys and Trisha Yearwood.

It was destroyed in the 2009 fire, and former manager James Bowyer was charged in March with arson and intent to defraud. Court documents show the hall was insured for more than $3 million.

Wayman knows he has his work cut out for him, but is undeterred.

“We basically have to start over,” he said.