Amphitheater construction begins in July with levee portion

CEDAR RAPIDS - After more than 10 years, four mayors, one massive flood and a lot of talk, the outdoor amphitheater on the Cedar River becomes reality in July.

The amphitheater is part floodable entertainment venue and a piece of the city's new flood-protection system on the west bank of the river. Once Freedom Festival ends July 4, work on the levee piece will begin in earnest.

Doug Carper, the city's flood-recovery construction coordinator, said the first task will be to reroute a sanitary sewer line that now runs from May's Island to the west bank of the river, so the line runs perpendicular under the levee and amphitheater but doesn't undermine the levee's sturdiness. A stormwater line from the Police Department through the levee also will be realigned.

By late July or early August, Carper said dump trucks and earthmovers will begin working to create a lawn that gradually slopes up to First Street SW and reaches about 13 feet above the street at its highest point.

Engineering plans call for 41,000 cubic yards of dirt to be brought to the site, he said. That's enough to cover a regulation football field with 25 feet of dirt.

The levee portion is expected to be complete this fall, although it won't provide flood protection until the rest of the flood-protection system is connected to it. Construction of the amphitheater portion - the final design of which is still in the works - will take place in 2012.

Gail Loskill, project coordinator for Cedar Rapids' Parks and Recreation, said the amphitheater should be ready for performances by autumn 2012. National touring acts won't be scheduled until 2013.

The outdoor amphitheater will hold between 3,000 and 5,000 people for the national touring shows but also will be used for an assortment of smaller concerts and events, Loskill said.

It will be the largest such venue in Iowa. The Simon Estes Riverfront Amphitheater in downtown Des Moines lists its seating capacity at about 2,000.

Cedar Rapids' amphitheater will feature a permanent stage and a few rows of benches made of stone or concrete. Patrons also will use the lawn for seating. In addition, a walkway will lead to a spot to the south called Festival Park, which will provide parking and space for vendors and small concerts and events, like the city's BBQ Roundup during the Freedom Festival.

A city feasibility study envisions eight national touring concerts, 14 ticketed local events, 14 non-ticketed local events, six other ticketed events and 10 private rentals a season. The study estimates the city will clear $73,000 a year from total operating revenues of about $1 million a year.

The project will cost about $8.25 million total to build. That includes the city and Linn County donation of $1.9 million in land. The project has secured two state grants: $1.6 million from the I-JOBS program and $1.075 million in River Enhancement Community Attraction and Tourism funds.

In addition, the city is raising $2 million in private donations; the goal is nearly complete. The Hall-Perrine Foundation has contributed $1 million; AEGON USA and Rockwell Collins, $225,000 each; Alliant Energy, $180,000 in in-kind services; and CRST, $100,000. The city also will contribute another $1.675 million and Linn County, $10,000.

Loskill said the amphitheater is finally being built because the community wants it built. Surveys of the public before and after the flood list the amphitheater as a priority, Loskill said.

We Can Do Better CR, which evoked Tea Party sentiments in its recent opposition to a local-option sales tax extension, isn't thrilled about the amphitheater.

Group founder Tim Pugh said the amphitheater is another example of downtown revitalization and the city's unsuccessful River Run project of a decade ago being labeled as “flood protection.”

“The city has put forth every effort to continue to push through failed plans of the past,” said Pugh. “ … Cedar Rapids needs to focus on the reality and the necessities of the community and not the desires of a select few big money special interests.”

Doug Neumann, president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Downtown District, said a riverfront amphitheater is a core component of the Downtown Vision Plan of 2007.

“I don't view anything in that plan as an extravagance,” he said. “The fact that the amphitheater envisioned pre-flood was able to be designed as a flood levee in addition to its purpose as a quality-of-life attraction makes it an even greater asset for the community.”