After more than three decades along the St. Johns River, the well-known— and well-worn — tent of Metropolitan Park could be coming down.
Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration will make that recommendation to City Council in the coming weeks.
Inspections showed the tent could no long be used or repaired, according to Curry spokeswoman Marsha Oliver.
There are no immediate plans for replacement, she said.
Metropolitan Park’s canopied stage has been shut down since November after an initial report from an outside firm said the structure was “not safe to occupy and must be brought down.” Additional city tests concurred.
The decision to shutter that part of the park caused promoters of The Big Ticket concert event in December to build a temporary stage. Legislation is being introduced today to City Council to reimburse the group about $96,000.
Mike Yokan, one of the concert’s promoters, said Monday he thought the reimbursements were fair but conservative.
Probably 20 percent more was incurred to move the concert from the originally planned staging area to the fire museum field in the park, he said.
Yokan said he wasn’t in favor of the tent coming down with no commitment for a replacement.
“I think Metropolitan Park is an incredibly valuable and unique asset to the city that continues to be so,” he said, later adding, “I would be disappointed if it goes the way of the dodo birds.”
For concerts like The Big Ticket and upcoming Welcome to Rockville, Yokan said roughly 20-30 acres plus parking for 7,000 vehicles is needed.
Rockville is scheduled for April 30-May 1 and another Big Ticket is slated for December. He doesn’t know if additional reimbursements will be sought because of the lack of a staging area.
Yokan doesn’t get the sense the Curry administration envisions Metropolitan Park housing such concerts and festivals anymore.
Instead, he thinks such events will be pushed toward the amphitheater and outdoor flexfield across the street at EverBank Field. Those facilities, part of $90 million in improvements at the stadium, have not yet broken ground.
Yokan isn’t sure where the concerts would go, but if no appropriate venue is found, the concerts could move to another city.
Removing the tent will take City Council approval, but the district representative wants some assurances before signing off.
Council member Reggie Gaffney said he met with the Curry administration about the issue in the past couple of weeks and expressed a desire for the community to still use the park. They can — the only part shuttered is the staging area.
However, he believes the newer venues across the street will be too expensive for nonprofits, community and social groups to rent. Metropolitan Park, he said, is a better alternative.
“Every day I get calls from people wanting to rent it,” he said of Metropolitan Park. “I just tell them to be patient about it.”
He said before he votes to approve the tent coming down, he wants a commitment that the tent at some point will be replaced once the city’s finances are in better shape.
Oliver said there are no immediate plans for the structure other than to recommend tearing down the tent.
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