THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090031
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
THOUSANDS of locals are already planning trips to the Virginia Beach Amphitheater this season. Now Ron Kuhlman is working to get tourists to show up as well.
Kuhlman is the director of marketing and sales for the Department of Convention and Visitor Development, the outfit that runs the city's $4 million national tourism campaign.
With six days to go before Wednesday's opening concert at the $18.5 million venue, Kuhlman's crew is getting the word out as far as Ohio and New York about the latest attraction in Virginia Beach.
And if all goes according to Hoyle, the amphitheater could lure enough additional people to Virginia Beach to fill another 60,000 room-nights for the area's hotel and motels.
``This will really enhance the quality of life here and provide additional things for visitors to do,'' Kuhlman says.
It will take a while to know just how much impact the amphitheater will have on tourism.
The reason, Kuhlman says, is that many of the area's hotels and motels are sold out during the summer months. It's in the ``shoulder season'' - before Memorial Day and after Labor Day - that the effect an added attraction like the amphitheater would be most noticeable, he says.
That's not to say some impact hasn't been felt already, he adds. Some hotels are already seeing advance room sales built around a weekend of amphitheater music and fun.
The city projects the amphitheater will generate about $22 million in economic impact.
If that figure seems large, just ask Scott Dupree of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Raleigh is home to the Walnut Creek Amphitheater, a music venue whose impact on tourism was nearly immediate.
``It's a huge economic generator in terms of our industry, particularly the leisure market,'' Dupree says. ``In 1995, the total economic impact of Walnut Creek was $27 million, and about $20 million of that was from out-of-town people.
``I don't think anyone expected it to be this successful,'' he adds. Walnut Creek was a success from the day it opened, he says. In 1994, it was the country's second-leading amphitheater in attendance, drawing lots of weekend visitors who stopped in for a show and a night on the town.
That is exactly what Virginia Beach expects will happen here.
Here's a little comparative information. Raleigh's population is about 250,000, and the Raleigh/ Durham/Chapel Hill area has about 1 million residents.
Virginia Beach's population is about 450,000, and Hampton Roads has about 1.5 million residents. The area is among the most popular resort destinations on the East Coast, boasting Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, the Hampton Air & Space Museum, the Virginia Beach Marine Science Museum (which is undergoing a $35 million renovation and expansion), Nauticus, a thriving sport-fishing business and, of course, the beaches.
``We'll have to get a season under our belts before we know the amphitheater's impact exactly,'' Kuhlman said. ``We know that 25 percent of the existing orders . . . already have been from outside Hampton Roads. It's amazing.''
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH AMPHITHEATER by CNB