Surprise! It’s a city amphitheater
GREENSBORO — When the Greensboro City Council heard this week that a $95,000 amphitheater was under construction at the Greensboro Coliseum, some council members said they didn’t know about the project.
The work has been stopped until they learn more.
“It caught some people on their heels,” Councilman Zack Matheny said Wednesday, a day after the issue came up in a work session.
The project has been under construction at the coliseum next to the old Canada Dry building during the past month.
Matheny said he fundamentally supports the idea but would have preferred to have known details about the amphitheater before ground was broken.
City Manager Rashad Young showed displeasure that the project was not vetted through his office and had not been discussed with council members or neighbors.
Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw said construction has stopped until more details come forward.
“I can’t play '21 Questions,’” Rakestraw said about getting information from city staff.
Councilman Robbie Perkins downplayed the surprise element Wednesday.
“I don’t think it’s earth-shattering by any means. We bought a piece of property, and the coliseum manager (Matt Brown) has it in his authority to spend the money,” he said. “Now if he’s going to build a $6 million amphitheater, I want to see it.”
Sandra Anderson Groat said she didn’t know about the project.
“First thing I have to do is get all the information about it and how was this decision made and who were the decision makers who decided to do this,” she said.
The city manager has the authority to approve construction that costs less than $300,000, according to the city code. Bob Morgan, the interim city manager at the time, approved construction of the amphitheater in June.
Sharpe Brothers is building it and grading the site for $95,000. The firm will receive four otherwise unused seats in the coliseum’s upscale sports and entertainment venue, the Carlyle Club, for one year at a value of $7,946.
One senior coliseum official refused to answer questions about the amphitheater Wednesday, deferring questions to a public information officer who later said the project was discussed in January as part of a cleanup connected to the former Canada Dry bottling plant the city bought. Efforts to reach Matt Brown, the coliseum director, were unsuccessful Wednesday.
When the City Council heard about the ongoing construction this week, they appeared surprised.
“I’m not criticizing anybody, but it would have helped if whoever decided to do this would send a memo over to the City Council,” Rakestraw said.
The amphitheater will have room for about 1,300 removable seats with a grassy area for lawn seating, Matheny said.
“If you can get James Taylor to come out and play it, that place will pay for itself in a night,” Matheny said.
The amphitheater construction would be funded by money left from the coliseum’s previous budget, along with sponsorship deals, Matheny said.
“You’ve got that coliseum, and he’s got to run it,” Matheny said of Matt Brown, “and he’s using $85,000 that was saved based on coming under budget. He’s using his own allowance.”
Engineering plans obtained from the city show a finished area with sidewalks, two concessions areas and a 4,800-square-foot concrete pad — large enough for a portable stage, but far smaller than a venue such as Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek in Raleigh, which can seat about 20,000.
Andrew Brown, a coliseum spokesman, wrote in an e-mail Wednesday: “Coliseum managing director Matt Brown extensively detailed these improvements and the future plans for this property — including its potential use as a site for live musical entertainment — in response to a question from Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw at the January 6, 2009, public meeting.”
In the video from that meeting, Brown does not mention an amphitheater but does say plans are to use the land for events.
“We’re looking at trying to utilize the grass area to the east of the property,” Matt Brown said in January.
In that meeting, Rakestraw pointed out what she saw as communication flaws.
Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small said during that meeting that plans for the Canada Dry property had been discussed, particularly in a December 2008 meeting for one of the coliseum’s advisory boards.
“My point is that we have opportunities for us to have any information that you have,” Bellamy-Small said.
Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com
Accompanying Photos
Photo Caption: Construction is underway for an amphitheater on the former Canada Dry site.
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