The city of Columbus hopes to begin construction on the Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater in about two months.
Kevin Stafford, city engineer, gave an update on the amphitheater, as well as plans for a planned Riverwalk extension project, to the Exchange Club on Thursday.
The amphitheater — named after the late District 17 state senator — is an approximately $3 million project that will be located on The Island, across from Riverside Park.
The space will seat 3,500 people. Capacity will be split between space for 1,750 people in lawn and general admission seating, 1,083 permanent chair back seats, and room for 615 people in a flexible seating area in front of the stage, according to Stafford.
The facility will also feature a 42-foot by 56-foot stage and seven food/beverage windows for concessions. It will have three entry gates, including ADA ramps and administrative facilities will include security, two ticket windows, first aid and event and janitorial staff facilities.
Stafford said the city will take bids on July 14, and the council will consider them at its following meeting on July 19. If the project is accepted, Stafford said he hopes to have contractors working on-site in August.
He said the project should have a roughly 9-month construction period, with plans to finish in late April.
The state Legislature approved $2.25 million for the city to use for the amphitheater, as well as a planned extension to the Riverwalk.
Since then, the city has designated $150,000 for a master plan for the trail extension and amphitheater, $75,000 to the U.S. Corps of Engineers to review the master plan and $300,000 for design, construction administration and project management fees.
Riverwalk Trail
Stafford also gave an update on a proposed Riverwalk extension that would extend a trail to Columbus Air Force Base.
The Riverwalk currently runs about 2.2 miles from Riverside Park to the south side of the Terry Brown Memorial Bridge on Highway 82. Stafford said the Mississippi Department of Transportation has offered to extend the walkway about 1,000 feet on the other side of the bridge.
Extending the trail the rest of the way to CAFB requires about 14 miles of new trail.
Stafford said about 60 percent of the land between the current Riverwalk and the base belongs to the Army Corps of Engineers. The city submitted a preliminary plan to the Corps to review, but Stafford said there are several hurdles to consider, such as environmental considerations, sections of the trail that would pass through hunting lands, cultural resource protection, and dredging areas.
“It’s kind of like a track and field event,” Stafford said. “We have all these hurdles to get through and so it’s an 18-month process for them just to review what we’re going to do.”
Moving forward, Stafford said when the trail is completed — or how much of it is completed — depends on funding. He said the city has already received about $2.8 million from the Legislature for the amphitheater and trail master plan, and legislators allocated another $1 million for this year. He said that puts the project at about break-even territory after the amphitheater is completed.
“We feel like going forward that pieces of this, as money provides, can be get done,” he said. “We hope that in the next year, with the Corps’ cooperation, we’ll have a good master plan to where we’re actually ready to go.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.