Local business leaders are pitching a new 5,000-seat amphitheater in downtown Winston-Salem, but city officials aren’t quite ready to sign off on it.
Flow Automotive’s Don Flow and Jim Brammer of Concert Stuff Group want to build the venue near the Benton Convention Center to attract bigger acts to Winston. And they’d like the city to lease them vacant parkland to do it.
At a committee meeting Monday, Council members suggested the plan was rushed. Mayor Pro Tem D.D. Adams said an amphitheater may not be the best use of the space.
“If we have land that we can use for anything as a city entity, the Council needs to address whether we want to use it for housing, or whether we want to use it for economic development or other things,” she said.
Her point was echoed by Council Member Barbara Hanes Burke. Council Member Regina Ford Hall said while she was generally supportive, she did have concerns about noise pollution and traffic.
The committee voted to send the proposal to the full Council for consideration, but Adams warned colleagues to expect pushback during the public comment period.
