After years on the planning sheets, Sound Board will come to life this week at MotorCity Casino Hotel, outfitted with versatile seating that can be configured for 1,500 to 2,300. The theater will kick off with a pair of eye-catching dates — heavily marketed shows by hometown R&B songstress Anita Baker (Thursday) and Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks (Saturday). That will be it for the venue until New Year’s Eve, which will feature an undetermined act.

But activity will kick up in 2009 with “full force,” says Bill Borenstein, the casino’s vice president of entertainment and theater operations, who expects a slate of rock and pop shows by young and veteran acts. The final piece in a construction project that started three years ago, Sound Board rounds out what casino officials hope is a multilevel experience that includes gaming, hotel and dining.

It joins several MotorCity lounges — including the popular Amnesia and the Radio Bar — that feature local bands and DJs. “Now the theater comes online, and it’s only going to enhance the guest experience here,” says Borenstein. “It really makes us whole.” Casinos and music have come a long way since the early 1990s, when the gaming circuit was largely relegated to moldy oldies and other off-radar performers.

Much of that stigma has been washed away, not least because casinos have proved willing to invest top dollars to attract premium talent. “Entertainment is really a great outlet for casino customers, and having the ability that casinos have, they’ve spent the money to put in real theaters. That adds to the credibility,” says Borenstein. “When tickets are sold on Ticketmaster, that adds to the credibility. When you can cater to the artists, that adds credibility.