Youngstown amphitheater project gets multi-million dollar donation
A project to build a new amphitheater in downtown Youngstown is getting a major boost from a community foundation in the Valley.
1/4
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A project to build a new amphitheater in downtown Youngstown is getting a major boost from a community foundation in the Valley.
Early Monday morning, the Youngstown Foundation announced a $3 million donation toward the construction of the new amphitheater.
In addition, the foundation has purchased the naming rights to the venue, which will now be called The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre.
According to their website, the foundation is one of the largest community foundations in the nation and works to provide millions of dollars of assistance to projects, charities, and scientific and educational institutions in order to better the city.
"The amphitheater just spoke to us because it enhances the quality of life for every resident of the Valley. It helps downtown development, and we are looking forward to providing wonderful entertainment and quality of life for the future," said Jan Strasfeld, Executive Director of The Youngstown Foundation.
Pre-construction work has already begun on the old Wean United Site near the Market Street bridge in downtown Youngstown.
MKSK out of Columbus is the design consultant and landscape architect hired to create the city's vision for the project.
The first phase of the plan would be to create an amphitheater design with more than 3,200 seats.
It would include a restroom facility, an expanded concessions area, a V.I.P. building, a ticket box, terraced seating and an expanded canopy.
Future phases of the amphitheater project would include a possible water park facility, a water feature, a dog park, what would be called Riverfront Park, a children's garden and play area, a community garden space, an athletics area to include basketball and bocce courts.
It could also include a river overlook deck, a trail, a re-purposed area under the Market Street bridge and event spaces for community festivals.
Earlier this year, Youngstown City Council signed a contract with JAC Management to run the amphitheater. JAC is currently running operations for the Covelli Centre.
"We had hoped that one day you drive down the Market Street bridge and to the right you would see a jewel in our city at the Covelli Centre and to the left-hand side you would see a beautiful state of the art amphitheater, " said JAC Live CEO Eric Ryan.
Pre-construction work has already begun on the estimated $6 million dollar project with a timetable for completion set for some time by the end of 2018 with a grand opening in 2019.
