Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez was clear about what he expected when the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre in Bell Park is rebuilt. He expects a “first-rate facility.”
“You've got five million dollars, and you've heard what councillors have said,” he said, at the Oct. 14 city council meeting. “You've heard what the mayor has said. So go out and you bring us back a first-rate facility.”
The mayor said the project is important in terms of developing culture.
“When you think about the city, is this city all about roads and fixing soccer fields, and putting new walls on recreation centres? What investments have we really made in cultural development in the community? This is where we showcase not only local talent, but quality talent from around Ontario and Canada, and indeed, from around the world.”
The mayor says the funding will be a first for culture in the city during his term.
“This is about the only major investment that we're making in culture since I've been the mayor here, for three years. I don't think we made a mistake (allocating the funds).
The mayor warned city staff to remain within budget on the project.
“If I have anything to say to you tonight, it's that I want you to make sure that you stay within budget. We've got five million dollars, now it's your job to bring us an amphitheatre for five million dollars.”
When the upgraded amphitheatre is built, the mayor is hoping it will outlast it's predecessor.
“You're building something that will last more than the 42 years that this amphitheatre has lasted; and you can exclude the last 10 years because it hasn't been used at all because it's been inadequate.”
City staff and council have been holding public consultation meetings and have hired a firm to help prepare a business plan.
Chris Gore, the city's manager of community development, said there have been a few concerns raised at public meetings, which city staff are taking seriously.
“There's always been a concern with the volume of noise coming from the site, but again, it doesn't happen often. With this process we feel that we can help address the situation.”
A roofed venue is something the city is still mulling over, as far as how much of the facility will be covered.
“The roof is something we do have to look at,” Gore said. “The dollars we have will (only) go so far.”
The stage must be roofed, he said.
“One of the things we minimally know we have to do, in terms of having a venue, is protect the performers and protect the equipment they have on stage."
Gore said the general price tag the city is looking at for a roof for the facility is $2 million.
He said the rest of the project will be hard to complete with the $3 million left from the allocated $5million for the project.
“It will be a challenge. We're working on what we can do. There's a lot of demands, a lot of competing needs.”
The city is looking at starting the construction preparation this fall, according to Gore, and the construction at the site would begin in the spring.
In the summer of 2009, the city approved $5 million of capital funding through a joint partnership between the federal, provincial and municipal governments for the venue. The city hired a design team led by Castellan James and Partners Architects for the re-development of the amphitheatre.
At the same time, the city hired Novita Interpares Limited to prepare a business plan for the venue.
“One of the purposes behind the business plan is to determine to what (the uses) are for the site,” Gore said. “The other questions being considered are, 'what does the community expect from it, what are potential uses for the site?'”
The next steps for the redesign of the amphitheatre will be the possible approval of its conceptual design by city council on Oct. 28, and the approval of the business plan by council in December.
Novita draft business plan recommendations
- Bell Park is a community open space which must be respected and the amphitheatre needs to fit within that space without detracting from the balance of the park.
- The site must be organized to permit community use of the site at all times and to better meet the needs of event organizers and residents.
- There is a need to understand the relationship between the audience/performers and to design and manage the site to facilitate the mitigation of unwanted sound to the surrounding community.
- The issue of a canopy should be examined for implementation now or future consideration. However at minimum, the stage area must be covered to shelter performers and their equipment.
- Seating capacity should be flexible in order to accommodate a variety of events and a minimum capacity of 1,800 seats.
- Best practices for accessibility should be followed in order to ensure the site is accommodating the needs of all visitors.
- All services to the site (electrical, water, lighting) need to be assessed and upgraded as required.
