THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406140146
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940615 LENGTH: Medium
Objections raised by the Navy over placing a major entertainment complex so close to the air base - a mile away - weighed heavily in scrapping Corporate Landing, a 375-acre industrial development tract, as the prime site.
{REST} Another factor affecting amphitheater deliberations is the recent round of congressional base closings across the nation. Elected officials in Virginia Beach are leery of pressing for development that could threaten the future of Oceana.
Recent testing for noise levels generated by base aircraft also helped seal the decision, said Mark Wawner of the city's Economic Development Department.
Wawner and Cellar Door Entertainment, a concert promotion company charged with finding a suitable amphitheater location, are scrambling to find an alternative within the next 30 to 60 days.
The search is concentrated in the area of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center and the Princess Anne Road corridor, said Wawner.
Despite the setback, backers hope to open the Virginia Beach amphitheater and have a slate of entertainment by the end of 1995.
Wawner told members of the Resort Area Advisory Commission of the change in plans last week. The commission is a City Council-appointed panel authorized to oversee resort activities and improvements.
When City Council gave the amphitheater project the nod, city tourism officials began eyeing four potential sites.
Closest scrutiny was given to tracts at Corporate Landing, off General Booth Boulevard and Dam Neck Road. Also getting a close look was a chunk of state-owned Camp Pendleton, along General Booth Boulevard at Birdneck Road.
Now that Corporate Landing has been discarded, other locations are getting closer attention, including Princess Anne Park and a city-owned tract of about 100 acres near the Municipal Center, known as the Buffington Estate.
Cellar Door president Bill Reid was selected earlier this year to help pick a site and design a $10 million to $13 million amphitheater. It would be the city's first major project to get off the ground in the ongoing $93 million Tourism Growth Investment Fund program.
Two years ago, Reid urged the city to build a major entertainment theater to house 30 to 40 concerts a year. At the time, he predicted that such a facility would generate $6 million to $9.6 million in revenues in a five-year period. A sizeable chunk of that money would be returned to the city in the form of sales and amusement taxes, he said.
{KEYWORDS} PROPOSED AMPHITHEATER
by CNB