City of Waite Park honored for Ledge Amphitheater project

Times staff report
·2 min read
Flowers have been added around the main amphitheater seating area at The Ledge Monday, June 7, 2021, in Waite Park.

WAITE PARK - Waite Park was one of four Minnesota cities that received 2022 City of Excellence Awards on Friday at the annual League of Minnesota Cities conference in Duluth. Waite Park was honored for its work to transform an old, abandoned quarry into a prosperous outdoor amphitheater.

Forest Lake, Burnsville and Pine City were also honored, each receiving a plaque and a check for $1,000. Waite Park won in the category for Minnesota cities with 5,000 to 19,999 residents.

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The City of Excellence Awards recognize cities for outstanding programs or projects that have improved the quality of a city service, used innovation to solve problems, modified programs from another community to fit the city's need, saved money while achieving the same or better results and/or creatively involved city staff in decision-making.

"The city transformed an old, abandoned quarry site into a beautiful 5,000-seat open-air outdoor amphitheater. In the transformation, a special effort was made to preserve the natural beauty of the quarry, as well as much of the granite and wooded area of the property. Planning and development were a community-driven project that sought input from residents and participation of local businesses," League of Minnesota Cities said in a news release. "The Ledge Amphitheater was created with a focus on flexible space and design, bringing a variety of national and local entertainment options to the facility. The $17 million project was funded through local option sales taxes, local donations, and state bonding assistance. In 2022, it’s estimated that about 60,000-80,000 individuals will visit the site with a projected economic impact for the central Minnesota region of $8 million to $10 million."

The 2022 City of Excellence Award nominations were judged by a three-person panel including Anna Gruber, administrator for the City of Sartell and League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust Board member; Heather Bandeen, community solutions supervisor for Sourcewell; and Jim Scheibel, former mayor of St. Paul and a professor of practice for Hamline University.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: City of Waite Park honored for Ledge Amphitheater project