THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505060296
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Before its first concert - even before it gets final approval from the City Council - a $17 million amphitheater may be facing stiff competition from a neighbor with a rented roof and a driving range for a stage.
The council is expected Tuesday to OK a deal with a private concert promoter to build the amphitheater near Princess Anne Park.
But to council members' consternation, an outdoor theater at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base is already attracting some big-name acts.
Several council members, as well as the city's business partner in the amphitheater, worry that the Little Creek stage will draw acts that might otherwise play at the amphitheater or the Oceanfront.
They said that because the city can't collect taxes from concerts on the base, performers might be able to earn more at Little Creek than they could at a city venue.
Capt. John E. O'Neil Jr., the base's commanding officer, said the council members' concerns are unwarranted. The base theater poses no competitive threat to the Beach's amphitheater, he said, and his installation already contributes millions of dollars to the city's tax base.
``This is a temporary facility to give sailors a little bit of fun on Sunday afternoon,'' O'Neil said.
``Little Creek's impact on Virginia Beach is about $500 million a year - it's more than Oceana,'' he said. ``I hear what they're saying (about taxes) but frankly . . . it doesn't hold water. What I'm doing here is for sailors.''
Six concerts are scheduled for Little Creek this summer: five country acts, including John Michael Montgomery and Clint Black, and an ``urban contemporary rock'' event. The concerts are open to the general public, not just military personnel, and are being promoted on signs at Hardee's restaurants.
A new stage - three times bigger than the facility's old one - will be inaugurated Sunday for a Billy Ray Cyrus concert that is expected to draw a crowd of 5,000 to 8,000.
Marlin Wagner, director of morale, welfare and recreation for Little Creek, calls his theater a ``festival arena'' rather than an amphitheater. It has no permanent seats and, when not attracting country music fans, is a golf course.
Virginia Beach's planned amphitheater will have 7,500 covered seats and 12,500 spaces on a man-made hill.
It will cost about $17 million to build the facility. Taxpayers will contribute $10.5 million, and Cellar Door Productions of Virginia, the private contractor, will kick in the rest. The city also will pay about $4 million for roads and other infrastructure to serve the facility.
The council voted unanimously March 28 to move ahead with an amphitheater on an 80-acre site off Princess Anne Road near Landstown Road. Tuesday, the council is expected to consider the specific business deal with Cellar Door.
Councilman W.W. Harrison Jr., who has led efforts to bring an amphitheater to the Beach, was worried this week about the impact the Little Creek stage could have on his project.
``There is a high level of concern among the council and among the executives at Cellar Door because of what appears to be unfair competition,'' Harrison said.
He said he hopes the city and the base can work together to solve any problems. But if they can't, and the Beach does sign an agreement with Cellar Door, Harrison said he may fight the base stage more aggressively.
``When the city is a joint venture partner with Cellar Door, then everything's different,'' he said. ``We have an obligation to help them succeed.''
Cellar Door President Bill Reid said the Little Creek stage would not compete for bigger acts like Billy Joel or Elton John. But the stage will prevent him from booking smaller-drawing performers like John Michael Montgomery for events such as the American Music Festival, which his company organizes under contract with the city.
``I couldn't compete against a facility that doesn't pay admission taxes,'' he said. by CNB