THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220296
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The city's latest plan for salvation through more tourism has hit a snag.
Buying land for a proposed amphitheater has proved more difficult than expected.
The Resolution Trust Corp. has reportedly received another, higher bid for Princess Anne Commons, a property next to the Municipal Center that is the first choice as a location for an amphitheater.
City officials hope a 20,000-seat open-air concert hall will help boost tourism and improve the quality of life for Virginia Beach residents. In an August retreat, City Council members identified building an amphitheater as a top priority for the year. The project would also help console city leaders still suffering from the loss of the state's only race track to New Kent County last week.
But that doesn't mean the amphitheater has unanimous support.
Only a handful of council members are totally committed to the project. The council has not decided to put an amphitheater on the site it is trying to buy on North Landing Road. It could use the land, instead, for an extension of the municipal center or for a new school, City Manager James K. Spore said.
Several members said Friday that they would not be happy about paying more for the 112-acre site, even if it means losing the property to someone else. The city has offered about $1.3 million for the site. The other bidder has reportedly offered about $1.6 million.
The Resolution Trust Corp., a federal entity established to sell off property owned by government-seized financial institutions, is expected to receive a recommendation from a subcontractor Wednesday about which of the two offers to accept.
Five City Council members who are still undecided about the amphitheater and two other officials are flying to Raleigh on Sunday afternoon to see a Bruce Hornsby-Bonnie Raitt concert at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater. That facility, built three years ago, is Virginia Beach's model, said Mark R. Wawner, acting director of the city's economic development department, who is leading the trip.
Council members planning to take the trip, he said, are John A. Baum, Robert K. Dean, Louis R. Jones, John D. Moss and Nancy K. Parker.
Councilman William D. Sessoms Jr., an amphitheater supporter, said he would pursue other locations if the Princess Anne Commons site falls through.
But both the city and Cellar Door, the Beach-based concert promoter that has agreed to help build the amphitheater, believe this site is the best in the city, Spore said. It has ample parking, an adequate road system and few neighbors - and it is far from the noise of planes taking off and landing at Oceana Naval Air Station, he said.
Cellar Door, the largest concert promotion company in the country, has agreed to put up about $5 million of the $12 million tab for the amphitheater. The company reportedly would manage it and book all the performers. ILLUSTRATION: Map
by CNB