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Local projects get mixed results By PETER WONG SALEM -- A proposed amphitheater at the Jackson County Exposition Park will get $500,000 in state help, but a new theater at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival will get nothing. Both are a result of action last week by the Oregon Legislature, which approved a Department of Economic Development budget that includes money for the long-discussed amphitheater at the fairgrounds in Central Point. The money was tucked into the budget by Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, who headed the Legislature's joint budget subcommittee on transportation and economic development. But Hannon was unsuccessful in obtaining money for the theater that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival wants to build as a replacement for the Black Swan Theater in Ashland. He said its chances were doomed by the continuing dispute between the festival and historic preservation advocates about the fate of Carpenter Hall. "Given those factors, I chose the organization that had not received money from the state before," Hannon said. Marty Lemke, president of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival board of directors, said Saturday that she was disappointed to lose out on the economic development money. "It's really their hard call to make," Lemke said of legislators. "Of course, we're disappointed, but that's their job." The festival received $1 million from lottery proceeds in 1991 toward construction of the Allen Pavilion. Hannon said the festival sought up to $1 million this time, but the most it probably could have gotten was $500,000. "Some of the people opposed to the festival's plans apparently lobbied some of my colleagues, who told me they did not want to appropriate money for a project with an unresolved conflict," Hannon said. "I told festival officials I did not know who said or did what. But it pulled the rug out from under my efforts." Although an amphitheater has been contemplated for the Expo grounds for nearly a decade, it was originally conceived as a project to be built and managed by a private contractor. This project will be under county authority, though it can be made available to community organizations. Leigh Johnson of Medford, who heads the Jackson County Fair Board, said the state appropriation will have to be supplemented with up to $500,000 in private contributions. "But with that kind of seed money, we can get started right away," he said. "Some companies have volunteered to help make this happen. I believe we can raise the rest of the money in short order. We could be well on our way to establish it in a year." The amphitheater is envisioned as a cross between the Britt Festivals grounds in Jacksonville, which holds about 2,200 in reserved seats and on the lawn, and the 9,000-seat L.B. Day Amphitheater at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. It will hold about 5,000 people. Johnson said LTM Inc. of Medford may make a noncash contribution in the form of surplus dirt to form a berm behind the amphitheater. But contributions will be needed to plant the berm, grade the grounds and build the amphitheater stage. A power source is nearby, and Johnson said two commercial kitchens are being completed in nearby Padgham Pavilion. He said the Friends of the Fair Foundation has raised $1.3 million previously for various projects at the Expo grounds. "This project will help put the Expo on a sounder financial footing," Johnson said. "As long as we can stay self-sufficient and provide nicer grounds, several thousand youths involved in programs on our grounds benefit -- because they are our priority." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA