Another $1 million for the Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater on The Island has come with renewed calls for the city to start hosting events there.
The legislature appropriated the new funds in this year’s session — roughly one-third of what the city needs to complete the project. The city has spent $3.2 million in state allocations since 2017 on the initial phases of the amphitheater, including a 42-by-56-foot stage, but the site has yet to host its first event.
“You could have a concert out there tomorrow,” City Engineer Kevin Stafford said Thursday during a city council work session at City Hall, noting the amphitheater is Americans with Disabilities Act accessible.
To have the amphitheater fully functioning for ticketed events, though, it still needs seating, fencing, bathroom facilities, a permanent concession stand and landscaping, among other things, Stafford said. When those things are finished, he said, the city could hire a private contractor to book shows and events at what will be a 3,500-capacity venue.
Between now and then, District 39 Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, who advocated hard for the latest amphitheater appropriation, urged the city to “have something out there that will get people excited about it.”
During the council work session, she suggested the city could bring in portable bathroom facilities and food trucks to accommodate those early events.
McLean said she led House Speaker Jason White on a tour of the amphitheater site during the legislative session and sent him a package of how it would look when complete.
“I will tell you, he did ask, ‘Are y’all using it?’ And I said, ‘No. We’re not,’” McLean said Thursday. “Then I went and spoke with the chairman of Ways and Means … (and) that was the first question he asked. … I know there’s some discussion of having something out there, and I really think we need to.”
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene agreed, even suggesting less conspicuous options for portable toilets.
“There are trailers you can bring in that don’t look anything like Port-a-Johns,” he said.
Mayor Keith Gaskin told The Dispatch after the meeting the city was tentatively planning an Oct. 6 grand reopening of the pedestrian bridge, which was closed in February 2020 after one of its piers was damaged by a runaway barge. He said there are discussions of hosting a concert at the amphitheater in conjunction with the bridge ceremony, but nothing has been finalized.
How to spend the $1 million
The biggest ticket items remaining to finish the amphitheater, Stafford said, include $850,000 for restrooms, a $750,000 concession stand and close to $700,000 for lower bowl seating — which would include the concrete foundation and 1,100 hardback fixed seats.
Once finished, the venue will also include 600 movable seats and the upper area will remain open grass seating.
Greene openly supported using the $1 million on seating but asked Stafford if there was a way to get at least the shells of the restrooms and concession stand built as an alternative.
Stafford said the buildings would be beside each other with a space between for turnstiles and gates. He estimated the $1 million would cover the complete bathroom facility and the shell for the concession stand.
Beyond the “big-ticket items,” Stafford said $220,000 is needed for landscaping — which he suggested doing last — as well as other sundry finishing touches.
After the meeting, Gaskin told The Dispatch he thinks installing the lower bowl seating should be the priority. When speaking during the work session, McLean also supported that plan.
What’s next?
Gaskin told The Dispatch city officials plan to lobby in June in Washington, D.C., for federal dollars to help finish the amphitheater.
While Stafford said the latest appropriation leaves the city roughly $2 million short of finishing the amphitheater proper, the city is seeking $3 million more total — which includes a parking lot and a potential land acquisition for additional parking space.
Gaskin added private donors locally also could pitch in.
“There’s a lot of interest in the amphitheater and investing in it,” he said.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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