Popular NW Indiana entertainment center to be torn down

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (WLS) -- The end is near for a popular entertainment venue in Northwest Indiana.

The Star Plaza Theatre is being torn down along with the adjacent Radisson hotel in Merrillville. The theater will close on April 30. It opened in 1979 and has hosted a wide range of performances from BB King and Johnny Cash to Chris Rock and Motley Crue.

A full-service upscale hotel will be built in its place which is scheduled to open in summer of 2018.