The arts and entertainment options in the Valley are continuing to expand.

Impressive new multiuse performing arts facilities are opening in downtown Tracy and Modesto.

That continues an encouraging trend that started in 2004, when Stockton's renovated, 2,000-seat Bob Hope Theatre reopened with comedian Jerry Seinfeld and 2006, when pop singer Neil Diamond inaugurated the 10,000-seat Stockton Arena,

Tracy's $25 million Grand Theatre Center for the Arts includes a 37,000-square-foot visual and performing arts center with a 560-seat theater, 110-seat studio theater and other studios. It opened last weekend with activities that included a concert by Grammy Award-winning singer Linda Ronstadt.

In Modesto, the $48.2 million Gallo Center for the Arts includes the 1,252-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater and 444-capacity Foster Family Theater.

The smaller theater made its public debut during Sunday's season-opening concert by Modesto's Townsend Opera Players. Stockton Symphony conductor Peter Jaffe narrated the concert and was impressed by the theater's "warm, resonant sound."

The Gallo Center's formal opening next Thursday, a fundraising event, features Patti LuPone and the Modesto Symphony Orchestra while crooner Tony Bennett performs a sold-out concert on Sept. 29.

If these new venues are managed properly, they will find audiences.

Almost 10 years after a $10 million renovation, Lodi's Hutchins Street Square will be busy again in 2007-08 with dance, music, comedy and theater performances. Renovation of the old Lodi High School, with a 789-seat theater and 65-foot rotunda, was completed in 1998.

Managers of the Gallo Center did it the right way. Director Dave Pier and his staff booked 150 events - ranging from local to international performers and groups - before the venue opened.

The new facilities in Modesto and Tracy should enhance the region's entertainment reputation.

The Stockton Symphony, which opened its 81st season last week, continues to perform at Delta College's 1,450-seat Atherton Auditorium. The symphony, third oldest in California, is a cultural mainstay in the county.

It would benefit from a new facility similar to the one in Modesto - coupled with a broader, more aggressive marketing effort.

As the area's population grows and its demographics change, there are more arts and entertainment choices than ever.

There are small, cabaret-like venues and larger concert halls. High-tech facilities are complemented by intimate, old-style theaters.

How well these new facilities ultimately fare remains an uncertainty in an increasingly competitive entertainment market.

Nothing, including past successes, can be taken for granted.

As our area's options expand, entertainment venues and cultural organizations always will require strong presentation, intelligent marketing and quality performances.