THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150082
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Grand Opening Report
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
IF YOU BUILD IT, will they come?
Last fall, at a site dedication for the Virginia Beach Amphitheater, music promoter Bill Reid drew on that ``Field of Dreams'' reference.
But he didn't pose it as a question.
Reid, president of Cellar Door Productions, had long maintained that an amphitheater would not only bring top-name entertainment to Virginia Beach, it would generate significant tax dollars and play a key role in bringing Hampton Roads together as a region.
A half-year later, on a 96-acre field behind Princess Anne Park, the $18.5-million dream is getting a final once-over for tonight's opening concert with Bruce Hornsby.
With 7,500 seats under the pavilion and the 12,500 spots on the sloping lawn behind it, the amphitheater dwarfs every venue in Hampton Roads (Scope's concert seating capacity is 13,500; Hampton Coliseum's just under 14,000) and, except for the Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge, every one in Virginia.
Still, there's no dodging the question: Will the promised performers and audiences come?
Yes and yes.
With Jimmy Buffett, the Eagles, Hootie & The Blowfish, Sting, Rod Stewart, Dwight Yoakam, Steely Dan, the Dave Matthews Band and Vince Gill and Patty Loveless among the acts in place, the lineup is first-rate.
Buffett sold out in 58 minutes; Hootie took a day. Not all shows sell as fast, but every time a sale date has been announced, ticket-buyers have queued up early.
Clearly, they will come.
Other questions can only be answered in time.
Most immediate, for residents of Salem Lakes and other communities bordering the amphitheater, are noise and traffic.
The city's conditional use permit requires that sound levels at properties adjacent to the amphitheater not exceed 60 decibels, roughly the level of normal indoor speech at three feet. Architectural and landscaping details will help control sound, as will the crews working the mixing board.
Concerned civic league representatives met with city officials and Cellar Door management in March 1995. That October, they visited the seat Nissan Pavilion, near Manassas, to look at traffic patterns, security measures and sound levels.
In a letter last month to the Virginia Beach Beacon, Mayor Meyera Oberndorf said a $1.50 parking charge had been added to the price of each ticket to avoid congestion from collecting fees at the gate, and to encourage on-site parking.
Another unanswered noise-related question: Since the amphitheater is close to the Oceana Naval Air Station, and jets can easily be seen flying near it, will the sounds bother concert-goers?
Officials say no. The amphitheater is located in the base's lowest noise zone and is not in any crash zone.
``Both the city and everyone who was involved with the amphitheater came to the Navy in the beginning with a list of possible sites, '' said Oceana's Lt. Nancy E. Heath.
``We said the best site . . . is the present site. That's not to say there won't be any jets flying, but it's the best site given to us.''
Some ticket-buyers questioned, and complained about, the $79.50 ticket price for the June 19 Eagles show, so far the most expensive concert on the schedule. Sting ($49.75) and Stewart ($44.75) are the next highest.
Prices, though, are set by artist management. And in every case but the Eagles, Reid said, the best seats at the amphitheater cost considerably less than the $65 for ``The Phantom of the Opera'' last year at Chrysler Hall.
Tickets fall into three categories: Gold Circle/Orchestra, the most expensive, are for seats nearest the stage; reserved seats make up the remainder under the pavilion. Festival lawn seating is the least expensive.
Cellar Door has tried to lighten the load by making some concerts Family Specials, with kids 12 and under getting a free festival lawn ticket when accompanied by an adult holding a paid lawn ticket. Family Specials so far are tonight's Hornsby show, Gill and Loveless (Saturday), Chicago/Crosby, Stills & Nash (June 1) and James Taylor (Aug. 16).
Besides the ticket prices, Cellar Door caught heat for playing to a narrow audience - white, middle-class, baby-boomers - when the first 10 acts on the amphitheater's inaugural schedule were announced in mid-March.
Again, there was little Reid and his outfit could do. The reason is elementary: If an act isn't touring, it can't be booked.
But in the two months since that announcement, the amphitheater has broadened its potential audience base considerably. The Dave Matthews Band, Hootie & The Blowfish and the Furthur Festival, featuring ex-members of the Grateful Dead, Hornsby and Los Lobos, add a definite youth flavor.
Construction delays brought on by a rough winter canceled a free, open-house concert with the Virginia Symphony. But the orchestra is booked for two dates. The music of Led Zeppelin will be featured June 16; on July 4, Music Director JoAnn Falletta leads a program capped off by Tchaikovsky's ``1812'' Overture.
Competition with other venues, particularly the outdoor country-music shows at the Little Creek Amphibious Base, has been another concern. A joint venture between the city and Cellar Door, the amphitheater operates on an April-to-October schedule, with its 35-40 shows expected to draw 400,000 paying customers per season.
Some taxpayers have said the money the city has invested in the project would be better spent on schools or fighting crime. But naysayers and supporters no doubt agree on the overriding question:
When will the city see a return on its investment?
Virginia Beach, which owns the venue, plans to recoup its $10.5 million in seven years. The overall economic impact, spending in the community related to the amphitheater, is expected to exceed $8.2 million. Most of the rest of the money for construction came from Cellar Door, which put up $7 million and holds a 30-year lease.
Tonight, the accounting begins, when questions yield to answers. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by David B. Hollinsworth
Virginia Beach Amphitheater
B\W photo by Huy Ngyen
Virginia Beach Amphitheater
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH AMPHITHEATER by CNB