TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) -- Leon County Commissioners are planning to use funds from the BP Oil Spill settlement to bring more visitors to our area. The money will be allocated to support large events hosted at the Capital City Amphitheater in Cascades Park.
They plan to use the $160,000 from the settlement to bring some big acts to the stage at the Amphitheater to headline four events.
The Amphitheater has been open for almost two years now, and has brought in Grammy award winner Jason Isbell and bands like the Avett Brothers and Beach Boys. The Alabama Shakes recently announced they will be stopping in the Capital City in September, but commissioners hope to build on the early success of the Amphitheater and continue to grow its role in the community.
They will focus on enhancing four community festivals, and to host marquee concerts tied to the events. Those festivals include Word of South and the Inaugural Florida Jazz and Blues Festival coming this Fall. The others are still being decided on.
"We try to be very cognizant of pricing for our tickets", said Lee Daniel, with Leon County Tourism Development. "We take in the community needs and we try to keep them reasonable for the Tallahassee market. But I think some of the subsidy can be used to keep the ticket prices down and enable it to be even more family friendly."
The money is planned to be split evenly, giving events from Fall 2016 through Spring 2018 $40,000.
The county says there are no specific acts tied to the funding yet. The subsidies are part of a larger settlement of over $700,000 which will go to weather proofing the stage and it's electronic systems.
