WESTBROOK – City officials, after hearing residents’ concerns about parking, noise and littering from a proposed concert venue in Riverbank Park, are confident that Westbrook can learn from communities that have successfully established similar outdoor amphitheaters.

Maine has seen an influx of major concerts coming to outdoor locations, including Scarborough Downs, Portland’s Eastern Promenade, and the already well-established Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor.

A major concert promoter is already on board for a facility in Westbrook, according to Bill Baker, Westbrook’s assistant city administrator for business and community relations. At a public meeting last week, he discussed plans for the possible 3,500-capacity venue in Riverbank Park, and fielded questions and concerns from more than 50 neighboring residents.

The earliest a seasonal concert series could begin is spring of 2015, he said.

According to Baker, the promoter does not want to be named publicly now, but Baker has said the company is the largest in the business.

During the meeting, Baker said that a Westbrook venue would work as a new destination for concert tours that already stop at regional venues in Newport, R.I., and Hampton Beach, N.H. Those venues work with LiveNation, which also owns Ticketmaster and many well-known facilities across the country, including the Xfinity Center (formerly Comcast) in Mansfield, Mass.

Baker said the promoter would not own the amphitheater, but the city and the company would enter into a contract agreement together.

Baker added that the promoter discussed the need for a southern Maine location that could supplement the Bangor location, which also works with LiveNation and Ticketmaster. He said that the promoter isn’t interested in “replicating another Bangor in Westbrook. We don’t need another 17,000-seat venue.”

Instead, he said, the promoter is looking for a 3,500-capacity venue, and Westbrook is attractive due to the park’s location on the river and its close proximity to the interstate.

Reaction from residents at the meeting last week came from supporters, who believe a concert series can put Westbrook on the tourism map and bring in considerable dollars, and detractors, who believe the city is already short on green space and parking opportunities.

Baker has said that the city would look at off-site parking, including the Idexx Laboratories parking lot, and establish a shuttle service to and from shows.

Carson Wood, who lives on Foster Street, said he doubts that concertgoers would adhere to a shuttle system.

“Human nature is a constant, and people will say, ‘I’m going to be the guy that’s going to find a parking place without using the shuttle bus,’” he said. “I’m very fearful of the traffic, people parking on my lawn, and being rude.”

Other concerns raised by residents were for how late shows will run, particularly from residents who live near the park, as well as for increased drinking and drug use during concerts.

“I’m not sure where the Bangor venue is in relation to homes, but you’re talking smack dab in the middle of homes,” said Beth Mitchell, who lives on Dunn Street.

Baker responded by saying that Westbrook can learn from other communities that have dealt with the same issues prior to establishing an outdoor venue.

“Communities can find ways to deal with big events, and find ways to deal with traffic and parking,” he said. “There are a lot of options, and we feel that there are ways that are effective and will bring in people to eat at our restaurants, come to our shops, and learn what Westbrook has to offer.”

Although Westbrook is not a beach community or known for summer tourism, all communities that establish an outdoor venue face many of the same logistical issues. The Bangor venue uses a combination of a public parking garage, on-street parking, and various small lots. The Bangor Police Department also closes a few public streets surrounding the venue.

Michael Martin, the director of Newport waterfront events at the Yachting Center in Newport, R.I., said Tuesday that while the venue has been established for years, parking and other issues associated with large events are always there.

“Newport is a tourist town, but we are right downtown, so there’s limited parking,” he said. “We don’t have a true, on-site parking operation, but people coming to the concerts are also bringing money into other local businesses.”

Martin said that the center operates a few, smaller parking lots in the vicinity.

The Newport Yachting Center, which works with LiveNation and has a capacity of 1,900, has been holding a summer concert series, in its current form, for about four years and hosts performances from May through September. Martin said that because the center hosts other events, such as an annual boat show, the concert series uses a temporary tent structure.

When the tent comes down in October, the city sets up a public skating rink, something Baker has said Westbrook has looked into.

Martin said part of the flexibility of having a seasonal format is that organizers can determine whether their business model works.

“With a big pavilion or something like that, you obviously need to be fairly certain you have a viable model to support it,” he said.

Martin added that the seasonal model works for Newport, but it is a community that attracts business specific to the summer season.

Another summer community, Hampton Beach, N.H., is home to the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, an indoor theater. While it does not have to worry about noise, General Manager Fred Schaake says being part of a popular beach community presents a parking problem in general.

The facility works closely with LiveNation, which, said Schaake, is experienced in planning for parking and noise issues.

“They deal with venues and these scenarios all across the country so I’m sure they know how to handle and deal with those issues,” he said.

If approved by the City Council, the amphitheater would be constructed by Span Systems Inc., a Manchester, N.H.-based company that specializes in “tensioned-fabric structures.”

Brett Schmidtchen, an assistant project manager for Span Systems, said Tuesday that the company has designed concepts for the city, but is waiting for approval to move forward. Schmidtchen said that the design for the amphitheater closely resembles that of Blue Hills Bank Pavilion (formerly Bank of America) in Boston, which has a larger capacity of 5,000.

Other Span Systems designs, like that of the St. Augustine Amphitheater in St. Augustine, Fla., are of similar capacity to the one proposed in Westbrook. St. Augustine offers 2,500 covered seats. However, Schmidtchen said that the specific design of the amphitheater, which has two cone-like features, doesn’t work in northern cities that deal with snow.

Schmidtchen said that the company has provided multiple designs and seating options to city officials, but are now waiting for the city to “be at a better place to move forward.”

He added that the design, which features a “central, large arch” across the width of the structure, can be worked to different seating capacities, with Westbrook exploring anywhere from 1,000-2,500.

According to initial concepts, the stage would be constructed directly abutting the American Legion Hall on Dunn Street, with the hall’s parking lot serving as a shuttle drop-off point for off-site parking locations.

Baker said last week that the city is talking with the American Legion Hall about partnering on the project. If the city were unable to use the American Legion property, the project would shift to the nearest corner of the park, and face diagonally toward the center of the park.

Initial estimates have put the cost of the amphitheater anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million.

Florida’s St. Augustine Amphitheater, above, was designed by Span Systems Inc., which is also working with Westbrook to develop a venue in Riverbank Park. The venue has covered seating for 2,500, also the number being explored by Westbrook officials. However, the structural design for the amphitheater would be more similar to the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston.LiveNation’s Blue Hills Bank Pavilion in Boston was designed by Span Systems Inc., the same company working with Westbrook to develop a venue in Riverbank Park. Current concepts use a structural format similar to this, with a central, large arch.  

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