During Tuesday’s meeting, the Columbus City Council was ready to approve the contract that will complete the Terry Brown Amphitheater. After the discussion and just prior to the vote, which turned out to be unanimous, Ward 6 councilman Jason Spears had one more question: “When they finish this, we’re going to be able to use it, right?” he asked.

Those who have followed the continuing saga of the amphitheater project can understand Spears’ need for reassurance.

After all, the facility had its groundbreaking ceremony in December 2015 for a state-funded project that was supposed to cost $3 million and be completed by the spring of 2018.

That deadline came and went. State funding dried up as the cost to finish the amphitheater swelled to $7 million. Public perception of the project began to sour as time passed with no resolution in sight.

The attitude about the amphitheater wasn’t helped by floods that damaged a portion of the facility in 2019 and 2020.

People challenged why the amphitheater was being built, where it was being built and who was to blame for the delays.

This is not unique to the amphitheater. Delays in public projects are the spark that fires negative public opinion. When a project stalls, the public perception attributes the delay to incompetence or waste. Some even argue the project be abandoned rather than throw good money after bad.

It’s worth noting that the other projects near the amphitheater site also endured their share of doubts and criticisms. The Columbus Riverwalk, the Roger Short Soccer Complex and the Old Highway 82 Pedestrian Bridge also had detractors. Those critics fell silent long ago.

That is why we are hopeful that public opinion will begin to change in light of Tuesday’s council meeting. For the first time, we are assured that everything is in place to finish the project in a specified amount of time. We can now say with confidence that the Amphitheater project will be completed.

The funds needed to complete the facility have been secured, and a firm completion date has been set by contract terms. Burks-Mordecai Builders Inc. won the contract with a low bid of nearly $2.38 million, which was less than the city’s $3 million estimate.

The 300-calendar day contract sets the completion date for late March. We are also pleased that a local contractor, Burks-Mordecai Builders Inc., located on The Island and passing the site every day, won the bid. We are always pleased when public projects go to local companies.

We do not deny that some skepticism of the project has been justified. We realize that some have soured on the project to the point where their negative view won’t change.

But we are hopeful the overall attitude about the project will begin to shift in a positive direction and that we can again begin to focus on the benefits that a completed amphitheater will provide our community.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.