TOLEDO, Ohio — Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from city of Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz.
The controversial Waterville amphitheater project is dead and development is now focused on working to take over the ProMedica Live Summer Concert Series and build an eventual downtown Toledo amphitheater location, developer Hunter Brucks said Tuesday.
Brucks, the president and CEO of Monroe, Mich.-based HB Concerts, Inc., told WTOL 11 in a phone call Tuesday that he is working with the city of Toledo to take over and expand the ProMedica summer concert series in 2024.
ProMedica spokesperson Tausha Moore provided WTOL 11 with the following statement:
"We are proud of the momentum ProMedica ignited with the downtown concerts and events. Since we just wrapped up the 2023 season, it will be a little while before we make a public announcement about the 2024 season."
At a Toledo City Council agenda review Tuesday, the city of Toledo's director of economic development, Brandon Sehlhorst, said 2023 was the final year of the ProMedica Live Summer Concert Series and that the opportunity arose for HB Concerts, Inc. to take over the annual event.
Sehlhorst said the city has been working with multiple parties to transition the concert series that ProMedica has organized since 2017 to HB Concerts. A proposal to do so includes licensing downtown Toledo's Promenade Park, where the concerts are held, to Brucks' company.
The 2024 concert series hinges on city council approving the proposal. If the event's future were more certain, planning would have begun a few months ago, Sehlhorst said.
"If council doesn't approve this, it's very likely that there will not be a concert series next year," he said.
HB Concerts has also committed to at least 10 concerts a year but aims to have 15-20 or more. ProMedica had an average of nine concerts a year, Sehlhorst said. The healthcare giant halved the 2023 lineup to four concerts due to significant financial struggles, and eventually canceled one.
Brucks also hopes to open an amphitheater in downtown Toledo in 2025, highlighting a parking lot bounded by Adams, North Huron, Jackson and North Superior streets as a potential location. The lot sits across North Superior Street from the Valentine Theatre.
Sehlhorst said "there is an effort underway" to attract the amphitheater to Toledo, citing the success of similarly-sized Midwest cities building amphitheaters that prove to be boons for their local economies. He said three sites in the Glass City are under consideration, and that the Adams and Huron streets location "meets the criteria" for what an amphitheater needs. Sehlhorst declined to name the other two sites.
In response to a request for comment, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz offered the following statement Wednesday:
“Now that the developer has decided not to build in Waterville, of course the city of Toledo is interested in trying to attract this kind of project into our community. Ultimately, the final decision will be made by the developer, and he has communities all over NW Ohio trying to attract his investment as well. It’s clear that an amphitheater will be built somewhere in our market. Obviously, I would rather see it built in Toledo than somewhere outside Toledo.
That being said, no one is interested in burdening the Valentine Theatre or any other important business in our city. A number of sites are being considered, and whichever one is selected will be chosen with an eye toward benefiting — not harming — adjacent neighbors and businesses. I am certain that we can find a site that works for everyone — the developer, the business community, and most importantly, the residents of Toledo.”
Brucks expressed excitement about his future plans for entertainment in northwest Ohio.
"I'm really happy right now," he said. "This is the first time I've been happy in three years. I should say, I'm excited. I don't deal good with negative energy. There was too much negative energy in Waterville. The site was beautiful, great potential, good people in that town, but it's just negative energy."
He also said he was optimistic about his plans following a meeting with Toledo City Council Tuesday.
"I really appreciated [Toledo City Council] listening to it. They were thanking me for it. That was different for me, I'm not used to that," Brucks said. "I'm used to a big red flag instead of a red carpet."
What happened to the Waterville amphitheater project?
The proposed outdoor amphitheater project in Waterville began over a year ago. Waterville residents expressed significant opposition to the amphitheater, citing concerns such as large amounts of noise and traffic being in a typically smaller, quieter town. Supporters pointed to the potential city-wide economic benefits the venue could bring.
Waterville City Council in November 2022 voted in favor of the project after months of public meetings with passionate input from residents and business owners for and against the project. A resident-organized petition with over 1,000 signatures opposed council's approval of the project, and council then unanimously voted in favor of letting the board of elections decide whether or not it should appear on the ballot.
In April, the Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office ruled that the amphitheater construction was not subject to referendum after the Lucas County Board of Elections was deadlocked 2-2 on the matter.
In July, the Lucas County BOE then denied a proposed ballot measure that would let voters decide the fate of a road-extension project necessary for the construction of the proposed amphitheater.
The board's denial of the measure placed the future of the amphitheater back in the hands of local elected officials.