City Engineer Kevin Stafford remembers a time when the Sen. Terry Brown Amphitheater could have ridden to the rescue.

Years ago, Red Mountain Entertainment, which manages the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Alabama, had booked Rod Stewart to perform, he said. The show wasn’t selling well.

“They canceled the show,” he said. “That would have been a perfect opportunity where it could have been relocated here, to a smaller facility, and we would have had a full venue.”

That idea — that the amphitheater could get those smaller shows, and ones that fail to sell out bigger sites — was a major component of the city’s pitch for funding to area legislators at a Wednesday morning “stakeholder meeting.”

Stafford and Mayor Keith Gaskin asked for about $4 million in state funding to finish the project and also to renew the 2-percent tourism tax for 10 years, rather than the expected four.

District 41 Rep. Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus), District 37 Rep. Andy Boyd (R-Columbus) and District 16 Sen. Angela Turner Ford (D-West Point) were the only three legislators in attendance. District 39 Rep. Dana McLean and Dist. 17 Sen. Chuck Younger, both Republicans from Lowndes County, were absent.

The major topic of discussion was the amphitheater, which is located on the cutoff island across from the Riverwalk. The request for funding was originally presented to the legislature in 2015, Stafford explained. The city asked for $5 million and was given $3.2 million, which was used to build the structure that exists today, which includes the stage, some concrete work in the seating area and the existing fencing.

The amphitheater still needs bathrooms, concession stands, 1,700 hardback seats, turnstiles and safety features such as gating and more fencing. The remainder of the amphitheater’s 3,500 seats would be in the grassy area.

The state pitched in another $500,000 in 2019, but no further funding has been received. Now, due to inflation, costs have gone up about 35 percent, Stafford said. The cost for the remainder is estimated at $4 million.

“We understand we may not get all of that from the state,” Gaskin said. “We’ve also been actively talking to people in the private sector about private funding, as well.”

Stafford said the amphitheater would be privately managed — the city has talked to Red Mountain in the past — and he believes it could draw shows similar in size to those that go to Gulf Coast casinos.

Stafford said the city worked with the Mississippi State University Extension Service Center for Government and Community Development to get an idea of the economic impact of a fully realized amphitheater.

A full event at 3,500 seats would generate about $41,000 in state sales tax, he said, and around $11,000 per event for the city. Red Mountain had estimated around 12 events per year.

“It also estimates 36 jobs at around $800,000 in total wages,” he said.

Stafford said the amphitheater would be used all year to keep up community engagement, not just for the projected 12 big events.

Karriem said he was for the amphitheater, but that the city needed to pitch in somehow instead of expecting the state to carry the full load. He compared Columbus to Brandon, which also built its own amphitheater.

“When we start talking about this down at the capitol, Brandon is always brought up because they put a lot of their own money in,” he said.

Karriem also pointed out that Columbus doesn’t have the pull in the legislature that it used to.

“The state has already put over $3 million into this project,” he said. “At the time we had that money coming in we also had the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee from this area, and that made a big difference.”

Former District 39 Rep. Jeff Smith, who is from Columbus, was the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee during the initial construction of the amphitheater.

2-percent tax
The legislators also questioned the local request to renew the 2-percent tourism tax for 10 years, rather than four, which was its current term. The tax, first enacted in 1987, expired in 2018 in the midst of political infighting. It was eventually re-enacted in 2019, with a sunset in 2023.

The revenue from the tax is split between the city, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, the Golden Triangle Regional Development LINK and the CVB. The city and county each put their share of the revenue toward recreation.

It is collected from sales of prepared food and beverages in the city limits.

Karriem suggested putting some of the city’s $400,000 in revenue toward the amphitheater project, but Gaskin and Stafford pushed back.

“We’re in the process of working on a long-term plan for Propst Park and that money has been focused on that area,” Gaskin said. “I’m hoping to find a little pocket of money somewhere to help us finish the amphitheater.”

“The council has clearly spoken, and they want to do something in Propst Park,” Stafford agreed. “That (tourism tax) revenue is slated for that.”

The city is looking at an approximately $2.5 million first phase of improvements at Propst Park, which would add four new youth baseball fields around the Field of Dreams. Earlier this year it rejected a too-high bid and intends to rebid next year.

Gaskin said he hopes the city could figure out a way to work with the county, which is building its own sports complex off Highway 82 West. He said he believes the facilities combined can compete well with Starkville’s $20-million-plus Cornerstone Park complex being built off Highway 25.

“I had (Stafford) take us through the facility in Starkville that’s supposedly going to bring in so many outside groups to play there, and I was not that impressed,” he said. “Sorry, Starkville. I think we have the potential to partner with the county and what they’re building to bring teams in for competitive play here.”

Lowndes County approved a $12 million plan to build eight baseball/softball fields, a playground and a multipurpose building earlier this year.

Turner-Ford said she appreciated what the city was trying to do with the tourism tax.

“As long as there is local agreement between the county and the city about the tax, I don’t foresee any major issues,” she said. “In previous years there was a chairman who preferred these taxes be limited to four years, but we’ve seen some change since then.”

Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard said he wanted the state to help the city’s plans to become a reality.

“To sum it all up, we’re tired of our plans just sitting on the shelf collecting dust,” he said. “We need some money from our big brothers, fathers, mothers, whatever y’all call it to spread the wealth and spread the love and move this area forward.”

After the meeting, Boyd told The Dispatch he needed to “digest” what he had heard before making a decision about whether he would support the city’s request or not.

“That’s my money and your money we’re talking about in Jackson and spending it wisely is of the utmost importance,” he said.

Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.