Facility faces projected $236K shortfall this year

Peachtree City government may soon be taking over operations of the city’s amphitheater, which is currently run by the city’s Tourism Association.

The action comes in light of a projected $236,000 shortfall for the amphitheater this season, though with three shows left there’s still time for that to be shortened to some degree, officials have said.

At a workshop meeting Tuesday night, the overwhelming majority of residents spoke in favor of the city maintaining control of the amphitheater instead of leasing it out to a management company. That company, many argued, might bring in acts that residents wouldn’t feel comfortable with.

So instead the city will prepare to take over the venue and perhaps hire an amphitheater manager or contract with a person to operate the venue. The tourism association has been running the amphitheater with the tourism director serving as the amphitheater director, booking artists and sponsors.

The current plan is to reduce the number of shows per artist from two to one, but officials acknowledged that could change depending on the input from the new amphitheater manager.

Several people who spoke Tuesday night said in the past they had season tickets at the amphitheater but gave them up for various reasons, including the volume of concerts. Some said other patrons interfered with their enjoyment of the evening.

Others said they merely began attending concerts at Fayetteville’s Villages Amphitheater instead.

Several sponsors spoke, noting that the current amphitheater staff treats sponsors well.

Former Mayor Steve Brown said he hoped to see a financial presentation about the amphitheater at the meeting though none was offered. Brown suggested that concerts could be “segmented” to cater to different demographic groups.

“... You can’t have this discussion without numbers. You’ve got to break them down somehow.”

Councilman Don Haddix said he though the city should contract with a manager who has “a vested interest in making it profitable. If it doesn’t make a profit, they don’t make a profit.” He added that a mix of acts is needed for the amphitheater.

Councilwoman Cyndi Plunkett said as a season ticket holder herself, she expects to like at least three of the five concerts in a given series. Sometimes she’s gone to the other concerts and been surprised that she enjoyed the other groups anyway.

One resident expressed concern about the ultimate fighting event that was hosted at the amphitheater, saying that wasn’t the right example to set for children.

Plunkett said she agreed.

“I do believe whatever we put there has to have a PG rating and maintain a certain set of values,” Plunkett said.

Mayor Harold Logsdon said he used to be a season ticket holder but gave it up last year because of the acts that were being brought in.

“I spent that money somewhere else, on a baseball game,” Logsdon said, adding that he wants to get the amphitheater’s status back to where people are buying more season tickets again.

If the concert series is shrunk from two shows per artist to one, there needs to be a plan to handle season ticket holders who expect to attend in the same seats they’ve had for years, Plunkett said. One problem is the amphitheater doesn’t have that patron information except for the past few years, officials said.

An association representative told the City Council Tuesday night that the group wants the city to take over not just the amphitheater but also the tennis center.

One resident complained that the high school teams aren’t assigned appropriate courts to accommodate spectators and that priority is given to tennis center members.

Another argued that the restaurant area could be successful if it were given the opportunity to have better signage outside the tennis center.

Haddix said the previous operator of the tennis center, the Peachtree City Development Authority, envisioned the center making a profit. The way to make the center a success is to privatize it, he added.

Plunkett said she’d never support privatizing the facility because of where it was built and how it was built.

“Having the recreation department run it is certainly an idea. I can’t think of any way I could support selling it,” she said.

Councilman Steve Boone agreed.

“I can’t support selling it,” Boone said. “There’s too much water under the bridge. I think we can make it a very successful venue.”