Lucas County commissioners agreed Tuesday to pay $23,000 to ConnecToledo to determine how to improve Promenade Park.
“This continues our partnership with the city of Toledo and ConnecToledo to look at what it would take for concerts to continue downtown if there needs to be any infrastructure improvements,” said Matthew Heyrman, deputy county administrator.
Last August, the commissioners authorized an agreement with ConnecToledo, a nonprofit group dedicated to redeveloping downtown Toledo, to commission a feasibility study of a proposed amphitheater in the park.
The study, conducted by Conventions, Sports, and Leisure International, assessed market demand, financial projections, and economic impact associated with the proposed development of a 10,000-seat amphitheater.
Promenade Park, which has a seating capacity of 8,500, is the largest outdoor venue in northwest Ohio. The former ProMedica LIVE Summer Concert Series, which ended last year, hosted 24 percent of all concerts in the market, matched only by the Huntington Center, which also represents 24 percent of concerts in the market, according to the study.
“To build a standalone amphitheater would require a substantial amount of public subsidy in order for the economics to work,” said Paul Toth, president of ConnecToledo. “Based on that, we have focused our energy around what improvements we would make to the park to be able to draw national acts to Toledo, and act as a community facility for events like the the Pride festival.
“What’s the minimum investment we would need to make in the park? To draw some of these national acts, we’re going to have to have dressing rooms and restrooms near the stage, otherwise national acts will not come here.”
The community could maintain and potentially enhance the scale and tier of concerts hosted in the park through infrastructure improvements.
The assessment is the natural next step following the feasibility study, Mr. Heyrman said.
“What are the minimum requirements of investments to be made? What needs to be improved in the park? And what are the costs associated with that?” Mr. Heyrman said. “The county is very interested in this because, not only is it a community benefit, but also we run the other 24 percent of concerts that occur through the Huntington Center, so obviously we all want to be partners.”
Lance Woodworth, president and CEO of Destination Toledo, a marketing organization that works to attract visitors to the greater Toledo area, was upbeat about possible enhancements to Promenade Park.
“When I hear about improvements to a park, I get real excited about it because those are the things that attract people to come into an area, spend time and money, which benefits everyone who lives here,” he said.
Lucas County attracts annually about 16 million visitors, who spend $1.7 billion, Mr. Woodworth said. More than 36,000 jobs are supported by visitors, he added.
“When you look at the improvements and transformational changes taking place with Metroparks Toledo and the projects along the riverfront — the 5-mile riverwalk, the green space, the connectivity between Middlegrounds Metropark and Glass City Metropark on the other end — Promenade Park is smack dab in the middle of all that excitement going on,” Mr. Woodworth said. “The park also acts as a connector between our riverfront and the downtown business district. Its significance is how it fits into the larger puzzle of the development taking place along the riverfront.”
So, what kind of enhancements would he like to see at Promenade Park?
“I think the park is pretty wonderful as it is,” Mr. Woodworth said. “Every time I drive by, especially on hot days like today, the splashpads are in full gear and concerts are going on. But how can we continue to make it even better and make it more accessible to everybody and continue to draw people into our area?”
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