THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 10, 1995 TAG: 9505100435
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
Building an amphitheater will be expensive, City Council members conceded Tuesday. But the benefits to residents and tourists are worth a $21 million investment, they concluded.
In a unanimous vote, the council gave City Manager James K. Spore the authority to join the city in partnership with Cellar Door Productions of Virginia.
On March 28, the council agreed in principle to build an amphitheater, but waited until this week to approve the final deal to build the outdoor stage, which will provide covered seats for 7,500 fans and lawn seats for up to 12,500 more.
Council members Nancy K. Parker and Robert K. Dean said they would not oppose the project, but would also refuse to consider spending any added public money on it. ``I'm going to reluctantly support this,'' Dean said. ``This thing better come in at the projected cost. It's already gone way over what I had expected.''
All the other council members were enthusiastic supporters of the amphitheater, which is expected to pay for itself in about seven years.
The city's cost increased by $1.8 million last week after engineers realized the soils at the site, near Princess Anne Park, were of worse quality than originally thought.
The city will put up $10.5 million to build the facility and $4 million for roads and other infrastructure to support it.
Cellar Door will contribute about $7 million and will operate the amphitheater for at least 30 years.
The amphitheater is expected to generate $1.3 million to $1.5 million a year in rent, sponsorships and taxes on tickets, food, T-shirts and other merchandise sold there.
The Virginia Beach Development Authority, which will oversee the project, is expected to approve the deal Tuesday. Construction will begin by the end of the month with the first concert tentatively scheduled for mid-April of next year.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL BUDGET AMPHITHEATER by CNB