The Carrollton City Council voted Monday to move forward with construction of a 700-seat capacity amphitheater off of Bradley Street in the downtown area. Carroll County is partnering with the city to raze the Skinner Building, which the city currently owns, to make way for the amphitheater and an accompanying park. The county will also do some grating work on the project.
The possibility of an amphitheater has been mulled over by city officials for several years now, and the decision to move forward with it on Monday came largely because of the availability of special purpose local option sales tax funds, which will be used to bankroll the project, said City Manager Casey Coleman. The entirety of the project will be paid for by the city.
The proposed park, which will flank the amphitheater, will feature greenspace as well as picnic tables.
It's anticipated that the open-air amphitheater will cost around $400,000, which will be drawn from the 2003 SPLOST. As it stands now, admission to events at the venue will be free to the public. It’s yet to be seen what kind of shows and events the amphitheater will feature, though Coleman said the city intends to have regular movie nights at the facility.
On the whole, Coleman said, it will be a boon for the downtown area, giving area residents a source of free entertainment and drawing customers into local businesses.
“We’re really excited about it,” Coleman said. “It’ll help downtown commerce, and it’ll improve the quality of life for our citizens. Those are both really good things.”
The timetable on the project is still up in the air, though city officials anticipate it to be completed some time this summer.
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