"Since a subcommittee of the Lexington Philharmonic's Picnic with the Pops first started working for a permanent amphitheater in Lexington two years ago, with $1.3 million to jumpstart the effort, the concept has been music to many ears. Considering an amphitheater's potential for bolstering and expanding local entertainment offerings and spurring related economic development, in addition to serving as a possible city showcase for 2010, local leaders agree it would be a welcome addition to Lexington. The dilemma is finding the right place to put it.
Until recently, the Committee had hoped to partner with the state to build the amphitheater at the Kentucky Horse Park as part of the preparations for the 2010 Alltech FEI Games, with the remaining funds necessary for the project being bonded by the state.
"However, in the process of funding and planning for the World Equestrian Games, the amphitheater lost out," said David Stevens, who leads the Picnic with the Pops amphitheater subcommittee. "So now we're back to square one, and we're looking at sites that we had considered and seeing about financing it."
While the Horse Park is still enthusiastic about serving as a location and partner for the proposed facility in the future, it has to remain focused on its most pressing needs for the 2010 FEI Games in the next four years, said Kentucky Horse Park executive director John Nicholson. Namely, that includes construction of an outdoor equestrian stadium and extensive infrastructure and road improvements, in compliment to a new privately-funded hotel and a previously funded indoor arena. "We've got a short window of time, really, to have the Park in perfect condition to greet the world in 2010," Nicholson said.
"The Horse Park has been extremely helpful and extremely hospitable. It's not that they don't want us out there - it's a timing problem," said Philharmonic conductor George Zack, who announced his retirement earlier this month after 35 years with the Philharmonic. "(The amphitheater) is an idea whose time has come, and it's a realization whose time may have to wait."
The Horse Park location has not been ruled out indefinitely, but the 10-member amphitheater subcommittee is once again considering all its options, including a downtown location immediately west of Rupp Arena adjacent to the eventual extension of Newtown Pike and a hillside venue at Jacobson Park.
Both potential sites carry their advantages and drawbacks. While some see a beautifully designed urban amphitheater as a potential jewel for a cultural and economic reawakening of downtown, practical concerns about parking arrangements, expense, competing highway noise, as well as the limitations and current uses of available land, remain to be addressed.
"There are a number of discussions still to be had about the amphitheater," said Bill Owen, president and CEO of the Lexington Center. "The area east of the Jefferson Street bridge needs to continue to be available for use by Rupp Arena and the Convention Center in the same way it is now."
By way of example, when Tim McGraw and Faith Hill brought in 23 tractor-trailer trucks and eight tour buses for their Rupp Arena show, a parking garage in the Cox Street lot would not have accommodated them, Owen explained.
The potential demand for a local amphitheater would be hard to gauge at this point, Owen said. Maintaining the profitability of a facility built to fit the limitations of the proposed downtown site could be problematic, although not impossible, he said.
"A permanent amphitheater for the community somewhere is a terrific idea, and I'd be the first in line to support it," Owen said. "Relative to the Cox Street property, there's a lot of discussion and a lot of decisions to be had, in my judgement, as to whether or not that's wise."
However, with renewed interest for potential development along nearby Manchester Street generated by the impending Newtown Pike extension, an enlightened amphitheater design could anchor the area as an attractive downtown destination. That, in part, is the reasoning behind the inclusion of the urban amphitheater in the Lexington Downtown Development Authority's (LDDA's) master plan.
"With Newtown Pike coming in behind Rupp Arena parking lot, we need to have a new address for Manchester Street (and that area)," said Harold Tate, president and executive director of the LDDA. "We thought what that called for was an amphitheater, and a starting point for the Town Branch bike trail as well. So it almost becomes a little park area. It would just be an opportunity to have some outdoor entertainment in our downtown area."
Conversely, a site at Jacobson Park, which will become city-owned in 2011 as a result of November's referendum vote against takeover of Kentucky American, would offer more expansive land with fewer limitations, albeit in a less central and increasingly suburban locale.
For Picnic with the Pops chair Isabel Yates, the ultimate goal is to establish a permanent structure for Philharmonic events and other outdoor entertainment - no matter what the address.
"We have looked at many possibilities, and I hope that we can make progress and begin to bring this to reality in the next year," Yates said.
In addition to a final decision on location, that will take more funding for the facility, which Stevens estimates could cost as much as $8 million, depending on the final design.
Yates believes that some individuals and businesses in the community would be interested in naming and sponsorship opportunities, but those are difficult to pursue until a location is decided.
There are a lot of avenues that we could explore," Yates said. "If we had the location, I think that would make it much easier to raise the money."
Yates is also optimistic that the city's recently elected leadership will share her enthusiasm for the initiative.
"I'm hoping our new council will support our efforts, and I think that they will," Yates said.
The discussion presents a great opportunity for the city, said Vice Mayor-elect Jim Gray, and as such, all options deserve full consideration.
"Other cities have created really extraordinary pavilions which are able to house summer events in a really compelling environment," Gray said. "The real gift they are giving to the city is the chance to create an entertainment pavilion that can celebrate this legacy of the Picnic with the Pops and provide a springboard for the future."
In terms of financing the project, Gray doesn't believe that funding from the city will be necessary.
"An inspiring project like this can find private funding," he said. "The real challenge is to find the site and the vision."
In the meantime, as the FEI Games draws closer, the possibility of having a new amphitheater to greet visitors by 2010 may be slipping through the city's fingers.
"The great thing about the Equestrian Games is that it gives you a sense of urgency," Yates said. "I'd like the amphitheater to be a work of art in itself, not just a ramshackle building. I want it to be something that we can be very proud of."