Pinewood Bowl had its busiest concert season to date this year, attracting thousands of music fans to enjoy performances by the likes of Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt and Weird Al Yankovic.
The success has made it clear the venue built in 1947 to house a group of community players needs upgrades and a major remodel to accommodate modern acts and their fans, according to city parks officials and SMG, the company that books Pinewood shows and manages Pinnacle Bank Arena for the city.
Production staff works in cramped space and performers get ready in a wooden cabin reminiscent of a 1940s summer camp.Ìý
On the fan side, officials would like to see better pedestrian lighting, expanded parking and a concessions building.
Lincoln Parks and Recreation has a draft master plan for improvements but has not finalized it or taken it before the Parks and Rec Advisory Board because funding has not been identified for the majority of the projects, said J.J. Yost, who manages planning and construction for the department. The city hired Clark Enersen Partners in 2014 to write the master plan at a cost of $24,720.
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Parks Director Lynn Johnson recently presented the Lancaster County Board with a laundry list of Pinewood Bowl projects and asked whether commissioners would consider helping fund some of them with money from the Visitors Improvement Fund, which collects revenue from a 2 percent lodging tax.
“There has not been a major reinvestment in Pinewood Bowl for probably over 40 years,†Johnson said.
County commissioners expressed support and urged Parks and Rec to prioritize needs.
Officials have only a partial cost estimate for the wish list of about $1.8 million and haven’t yet calculated the price tag for projects that include adding wings to the stage walls, replacing the roof and creating a sliding wall at the rear of the stage.
The upgrades have been divided into three phases, the first of which includes 17 projects estimated to cost $750,000 and range from new concessions and tickets facilities to paving backstage parking to building spotlight towers.
A few things already have been funded, including $35,000 to lower the sound mixing station, $10,000 from Lincoln Cares for new entry columns and fence, and $230,000 in Parks and Rec capital improvement funds to build a 1,000- to 1,500-square-foot scenery-construction building for the community theater group, Pinewood Bowl Inc. Work on the building is expected to begin in fall 2017.
Pinewood Bowl is in its fifth year of hosting concerts for the first time in decades and has sold more than $7 million in tickets. The venue is an emerging destination and artists are calling to ask about availability, SMG's Tom Lorenz told county commissioners.
“This is not just a local thing anymore. It’s drawing from multiple states,†he said. “People travel from long distances to see some of these acts. When you see somebody like Paul Simon who didn’t do that many tours this summer and is talking about retiring, this was an attraction that drew people from far and wide.â€
Those visitors spend money in Lincoln and pay taxes on hotel, food, beverage and ticket sales.
Of the 10 Pinewood Bowl concerts this year, five sold out and one, The Beach Boys & The Temptations, moved to Pinnacle Bank Arena due to weather.
Musicians and fans love the venue flanked by pine trees and open to the night sky, but some of the basic infrastructure needs to be updated, Lorenz said.
This year, Pinewood shows raked in more than $100,000 in net proceeds, he estimated, adding that it’s difficult to separate intermingled revenue and costs of Pinewood and the arena.
SMG has voiced a willingness to contribute to individual projects as funding allows but has not made any specific commitments. The management pays the cityÌý$5,000 per event held at the Pinewood,Ìýwhich is split between paying staff costs and funding capital improvements.