Amphitheatre will seat 1,950
News
Posted By MIKE WHITEHOUSE THE SUDBURY STAR
Posted 1 month ago
If there is confusion about the capacity of the rebuilt Grace Hartman Amphitheatre, there shouldn't be, project organizers say.
The capacity of the new venue being built at Bell Park, along with the number of fixed seats it will offer, has not changed and isn't going to. Construction began this week and will be wrapped up in March 2011.
Original designs for the venue called for a capacity of 1,750, roughly the same as the old amphitheatre. That would include 400 fixed seats near the stage and the rest fanned out on a grassed bowl suitable for blankets or lawn chairs. That figure was based partly on the scale of Bell Park and the budget of $5 million, project architect Dennis Castellan said.
In March, after consulting with user groups, the capacity was increased to 1,950, with the same number of fixed seats. After also hearing from user groups, councillors asked for a lot more fixed seating, but Castellan says the design concept won't accommodate much more than 450.
The city has applied to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. for $833,000 for enhancements. That includes $300,000 for the additional seating, $125,000 for roof footings that will be built now, leaving $358,000 set aside to help pay for a $2.4 million canopy roof at some point in the future.
The city expects to hear about its funding request shortly, Chris Gore, manager of community partnerships, says.
Even with the funding, capacity will be capped at 1,950 patrons with 450 of those in fixed seats, Gore said.
Some of the user groups have made it clear they had hoped for greater capacity, up to 3,000, and a lot more fixed seating.
Derek Young, organizer of the Celtic Festival and Highland Games and a candidate for mayor in the Oct. 25 municipal election, said many groups still feel like they haven't been consulted.
While the relocated amphitheatre will be a significant improvement over the old one, it isn't big enough for its largest users.
Only three years ago, Northern Lights Festival Boreal sold 3,500 tickets for Blue Rodeo on the main stage, at that time a large tent in the parking lot.
However, neither the scale of the park setting nor the project's budget will allow for that, Castellan said. And even if they did, such a venue would not meet the needs of others.
Indeed, the planned venue will be of use to many more groups than the old one, Gore says.
The new amphitheatre -- with its winged stage and built-in sound system -- will suit theatre and dance troupes, school and cultural groups and local choirs, he said.
Castellan said it's best not to think of it just as a concert venue, but rather as a performance centre with the focus on flexibility and precision sound.
"What we're building is a room, a theatre room," he said.
"But this one is outside, with sky instead of a ceiling."
mwhitehouse@thesudburystar.com
Topic guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.
Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers.
