Late objections to amphitheater plan complicate Convention Center expansion | Opinion

Usually, the Red Hat Amphitheater in downtown Raleigh is a venue for rock concerts, but now the site is also presenting some political theater.

At issue is a plan to move the amphitheater slightly to the south to make way for an expansion of the Raleigh Convention Center. The site plan for the new and larger amphitheater calls for the permanent closing of a section of South Street, a link between downtown and neighborhoods and to the newly developed Dix Park.

Sig Hutchinson, a former Wake County commissioner and a longtime advocate for parks and greenways, says shutting down South Street will interfere with plans for an elaborate pedestrian and bike “strollway” running from Chavis Memorial Park in Southeast Raleigh to Dix Park.

“I don’t think anyone is trying to stop (the amphitheater) from being downtown. But is there a way we can do this and not close the street?“ he said. “We’re looking for a win-win solution.”

Hutchinson notes that designs drawn by Charlotte-based LS3P Associates, a firm that did not win the design contract, show several versions of the new amphitheater that would leave South Street open.

Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin is chagrined by the push to reconsider the relocation plan. She said various groups affected by the plan were consulted throughout its development. Now as late objections arise, she said, “I don’t know where this is coming from.”

Baldwin and others worry that reconsidering the site could delay the $387.5-million expansion of the Convention Center and construction of the new amphitheater. A 550-room Omni convention hotel is also set to open nearby in 2027.

But Ted Van Dyk, a Raleigh architect and member of the Wake County Planning Board, says a delay is just what’s needed. He said the concerns about closing South Street reflect how the entire expansion project has come about with too little public information or comment.

“The City Council has the ability to slow this down and call for a stakeholder engagement period before this is finalized,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you do that?”

Baldwin said that engagement has already happened, but Van Dyk wants a much broader process.

“Suddenly, we have to have this expansion and we have to have it right away. There is no explanation of why this is so urgent,” he said. “Where is the research that shows that a bigger center will draw bigger conventions? If you want to spend 300 million dollars, you would think there needs to be more said about it.”

Baldwin said the city has lost out on hosting conventions because the current center lacks enough meeting space and the city also needs more hotels. The expansion plan, she said, responds to those needs and will boost Raleigh’s economy.

It’s unlikely that Van Dyk will get far with his call to put the entire project on hold pending a broad public review. The funding is set and major changes could jeopardize it.

The Wake County Board of Commissioners in August 2023 approved $355 million in hospitality tax funds to add 500,000 square feet in Convention Center space. Relocating the amphitheater will cost an additional $32.5 million.

But Van Dyk is correct that the expansion and relocation plans do seem to have emerged from a fog around public communications caused in part by the pandemic. The plan would have benefited from more comments from people across the city. At the least, wider discussion would have surfaced the concerns about closing South Street much sooner.

So far, the expansion plan has not become a notable issue in City Council campaigns ahead of November’s election. But it may get more attention soon. The City Council will have a public hearing on the plan this month and a final vote is set for Sept. 17.

Council member Jane Harrison, who represents Southwest Raleigh and is running unopposed, said that with the expansion project’s design and funding mostly set, “I don’t know how you would undo some of these decisions at this point.”

But for now, South Street – and the debate – remains open.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett @ newsobserver.com