Everyone likes a roof over their heads, especially concert-goers.
That's the message city council gave to staff at a council meeting on Nov.25.
“I was concerned that the city would just forget about (the roof).” said Frances Caldarelli. The Ward 10 councillor presented a motion aiming to roof the new Grace Hartman Amphitheatre, which is being built in Bell Park.
“I understand that we're pressed for money, but ... there are places you can look, and I just want to give (staff) that little push to do that.”
The motion, passed unanimously by council, states “council wants the new Grace Hartman Amphitheatre to be everything it can be to the citizens who will use it.”
The motion directs city staff to “prepare a report showing how a roof can be placed on the Amphitheatre within the next three years.” Also, “that staff investigate how this work can be undertaken using reserves, capital funds, grants from other levels of government or community fund raising.”
The estimated price tag for said roof is $2.5 million, according to a presentation made by city staff to council. The roof would not be included in the $5 million for the project, as it would push the city over that limit.
The realization that building a roof on the amphitheatre would take council over budget on the project came as no surprise to Callaghan.
“I knew, quite frankly, that it couldn't be built for five million dollars, doing it right.”
Doing it right includes building it with a canopy, Callaghan said.
“I believe council made the right decision tonight. If we're going to do this and we're going to move forward then let's do it right and put the canopy on it and do it as soon as we possibly can.”
City staff and council also mulled over the idea of adding an additional 400 hard seats to the design of the amphitheatre, at an estimated cost of $350,000.
Currently, the design seats 1,750, (500 of which are hard seats, the rest being grass or soft seating).
The old amphitheatre had roughly the same capacity, according to architect Dennis Castellan, who is part of the architectural firm heading up the project.
