Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Brandon Amphitheater Beating Expectations

The Brandon amphitheater exceeded projections.  Brandon Mayor Butch Lee said the note was paid for the year with money left over to fund improvements at the complex.   WLBT reported last night:





Good job, Harvey, something else you screwed up through sloth and failure to exercise any leadership whatsoever.  In case you wonder what I am talking about, here is the story.  DJP and the business community were raising money to fund a study to create something to replace the Coliseum or build a similar venue.  Things were moving along until Harvey raised hell about the whole thing.  He started hollering that he and his padnah, Sean Perkins, were left out of it all when in fact, they had been notified every step of the way.  They demanded control of the project so control they got.  As happened so often under Harvey - and subsequent administrations - nothing happened.  Suddenly no one wanted to give money to the study, no meetings were held, and the whole thing just disappeared.  Give Brandon credit for stepping in and moving with a purpose.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I admit that I didn't think they would get a good bang for the buck where everyone could drive home after the show. Please do what I would do and get way ahead on the note and pay extra on the principal and retire it in half the time. When the facility gets dated in 2 years the numbers will slide down and you won't be bringing in as much money.
Still good idea that did work.

Anonymous said...

AMEN...period.

Anonymous said...

Building something like that is only a piece of the equation. You still have to have a management company that can bring in national acts. Jackson would just hire unqualified cronies. Most acts would probably be local hip hop/rap acts that would only fill a quarter of the seats. So it is probably best it went to Rankin County, because Jackson would have let it fail after it was built anyways.

Anonymous said...

The Amphitheater in Brandon is one of the nicest and best run I've ever been to in the SE. It's a gem for the City of Brandon.

Anonymous said...

These bloggers don't live in the area. If they did they would know this beats anything Jackson, Madison, or Ridgeland has to offer. Just across the street there a new baseball park called the quarry. Artificial Turf, beats dirt blowing in your face on a windy day, & great scoreboards, covered bleachers, etc. etc. Love both areas, just love it.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately the young fellow directly responsible for so much of the amphitheater’s success left the City and is now criss-crossing the country on behalf of the Howard Schultz Campaign. Big loss for the City. Maybe others can take up the slack. But with Butch campaigning for Transportation Commissioner and the loss of K Brown, expect things to drop off fairly quickly

Anonymous said...

As Rankin and Madison counties continue to progress, Jackson and Hinds County continue to decline.

This is a great venue. Having been to just one concert there, I'm looking forward to future concerts.

Anonymous said...

An updated venue was exactly what the area needed. In the 80s and early 90s national acts regularly came to the Coliseum.

Anonymous said...

1:55 I agree. KB was instrumental in getting the amphitheater where it is, but I am pretty sure the role he is playing now comes with a lot more benefits and is one he couldn't pass up. He, Jamie Weir, Thrash Construction, a lot of people had their hands in getting it going, and it is great.

PS the Avett Brothers play this weekend.

PSS who would have ever thought you could watch 2 nights of Widespread Panic(Friday and Saturday shows no less) and drink beer and hard liquor in Rankin County.

Anonymous said...

1:49 I do live in Brandon and have for the last 27 years. I'm also friends with 2 members of the city council. Are things perfect? No. But if you look at the quality of life, good schools, good recreation facilities, public safety and all the other things that make my town a good place to live, I'll take some of it's shortcomings. Drive the streets in Jackson and then drive in Brandon and then tell me how bad our streets are.
The utility work is because C-Spire is finally putting in their fiber-optic internet service, which gives us 3 choices of providers. They "tore up" my yard, but when they were through they left no trace. I've been to the amphitheater 3 times and it's wonderful and looking forward to going to 3 or 4 shows this year. As far as hotels and restaurants, we live 10 minutes from Lakeland Dr. and have all the choices we could possibly ask for.
If you don't like Brandon, move and if you don't live here, your jealousy is apparent.

Anonymous said...

If he wasn't running for another office, I bet the money would not have been used to pay the "note". A little free advertising.

Meanwhile, the streets of Brandon are deteriorating and crumbling apart, there are no hotels decent enough to stay in inside Brandon, a very few places to eat in the Brandon city limits worth patronizing (one just closed last weekend), and utility companies are wrecking residents' yards installing new equipment, with few yards repaired back to normal, water bills skyrocketing with many residents being charged the exact same amount, down to the penny, some month after month.

So let's talk how great Brandon is again.

Anonymous said...

@3:38 PM Try selling a house in Jackson, Clinton, or Byram right now and then buying one in Brandon or Flowood. You won't even get half for your house for what you will spend to move to these places in Rankin county. Even Pearl is filling with refuges from Jackson and I would still rather live in Pearl than anywhere in Hinds county.

Anonymous said...

What's the worst thing between Jackson and Brandon?
Pearl.
What's the best thing between Jackson and Brandon?
Pearl.

I've lived in Brandon the past 23 years, after initially being raised in NE Jackson and attending JPS. Brandon is a nice place to live, although it is rather cliquish with regard to being "connected" within the community, and the foundation of that network is the local Church going community. Not that that is a bad thing, but if you don't attend the local Church of your choosing, it's difficult to be "connected" around here. Reeeegardless, I'm cool with my City.

Anonymous said...

Based entirely on the title of the thread, I expected to read about another altercation at the amphi - this one resulting in a beating.

Anonymous said...

Be careful about buying tickets for this outdoor venue. It doesn't matter that terrible harsh winds/rain are beating down while you sit and suffer. Concert only canceled IF tornado warning issued. I was never so grateful for a tornado warning.

Anonymous said...

<< Unfortunately the young fellow directly responsible for so much of the amphitheater’s success left the City and is now criss-crossing the country on behalf of the Howard Schultz Campaign. Big loss for the City. Maybe others can take up the slack. But with Butch campaigning for Transportation Commissioner and the loss of K Brown, expect things to drop off fairly quickly
April 17, 2019 at 1:55 PM >>

. . mr 1:55pm . . while all of your blog-post is true . . **NOTHING** will drop off . . . did you know the brandon amphi-theatre is managed / shows are CO-promoted by https://redmountainentertainment.com/ ?? . . they CO-promote / manage 8 other similar sized venues across the south & also they buy whole tours & shows . . soo they can buy a whole tour & book the act at their own venues so there-fore they can control the cost of the shows at the smaller (( 8-k-issh seats )) venues . . do you think imagine dragons & dave mamthews would play much smaller venues / much potentially smaller garuantees (( the show payment )) unless they want to ?? . . this venue is here to stay unless some-thing catrastrophic happens !! !!

Anonymous said...

I just wish someone would actually tell us how much money the City of Brandon owes.



Anonymous said...

The amphitheater is cool. It's also shiny and new (for now).

People never understand these facilities eventually become a financial drag. They require staff to operate, maintenance and are a money suck.

Fortunately for Butch, he'll be collecting his PERS checks by the time the reality of being in the entertainment business hits. It will probably be sold to a corporate sponsor eventually, when the city gets tired of paying for it.

Anonymous said...

Photos please. I've never seen this place.

Anonymous said...

As proud Jacksonian, I can say without malice good for Brandon. It's still considered the Jackson Metro area. We should wish for nothing but the best for all other cities that fall under that umbrella.

Hell, if all of the other cities in Rankin, Madison, and Hinds county were thriving, the Brandon Amphitheatre would be 3x better. Just something to think about, while it seems a good number of people are settling for mediocre results based on some petty rivalry.

Anonymous said...

3:45, nice try at boosting your trailer's value over there in Brandon, but there is plenty of new construction in western and southern Hinds County, and the Clinton market is actually pretty tight right now. Just depends on what neighborhood you live in, no different than Brandon or Ridgeland.

Anonymous said...

Rah, rah, great, wtg Brandon wow pow bang. What all you condescending rednecks who say Rankin is great and Hinds sucks seem to be overlooking, is that THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI still ranks 50th in the USA (choose your area) and the leadership from the State is from RANKIN COUNTY. Carry on, it doesn't affect me one way or the other, but damn you people are myopic.

I Remember Jackson said...

"..while it seems a good number of people are settling for mediocre results based on some petty rivalry."

As a resident of Jackson, you can only HOPE for mediocrity. But, thanks for trying to ride the coattails of suburban accomplishments.

Anonymous said...

The Brandon amphi-theater will be rocking tonight (Friday). Not sure what will be showing at the various movie houses in Jackson.



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