Coney Island music venue: Leaders seek $20M from Ohio taxpayers for project
A group of Cincinnati leaders has asked the state government for $20 million to help the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra turn the former Coney Island property into a music venue and entertainment campus.
It's one of many project requests, totaling $104 million, the 16 members of the Hamilton County Prioritization Task Force have made to the Ohio General Assembly.
In a Jan. 5 letter to Gov. Mike DeWine, the task force explains the projects that "will support economic growth in our region and enhance much-needed services to the community."
The group, which includes leaders from the business and nonprofit communities, makes recommendations every two years as the Ohio General Assembly goes through its budget process. The recommendations this year also include $50 million for the renovation of the Duke Energy Convention Center and $10 million for Xavier University’s Osteopathic Medical School.
These projects "will be transformative for a generation in Hamilton County and southwest Ohio," the leaders wrote in the letter signed by task force members, who include Western & Southern Chief Executive Officer John Barrett, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber President Brendon Cull and FC Cincinnati Co-Chair Jeff Berding.
What is planned for the Coney Island property?
The plan has sparked protests from historic preservationists and residents who want to keep all or part of the historic amusement park and pool intact.
The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in December bought the Coney Island property on Cincinnati's eastern border for $8 million and announced plans to transform the site into a $118 million music venue and entertainment campus.
An orchestra subsidiary Music and Event Management Inc., known as MEMI, owns and operates Riverbend Music Center and PNC Pavilion venues next door to Coney Island. The CSO plans to keep those two stages and add a third stage on the Coney Island property, allowing the entertainment venue to host music festivals, according to MEMI spokesperson Rosemarie Moehring.
Designs aren't final, but the new stage would likely seat about 22,000 people, slightly more than the current Riverbend, which seats 20,500, Moehring told The Enquirer in January. The new stage would replace the Riverbend stage as the main stage for large acts. The old Riverbend stage would remain and be used for music festivals and large events that require multiple stages, Moehring said.
The symphony would continue to book acts for the smaller 4,500-seat PNC Pavilion, Moehring said.
Moehring, in response to The Enquirer asking why the project was worthy of state money, sent a PowerPoint presentation claiming the new venue will increase the number of shows currently booked at Riverbend by 30%. This will mean an additional 150,000 concertgoers every year. In addition, the new facility will be able to host music festivals that could bring in another 100,000 people each year, according to the PowerPoint.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why do leaders want $20 million from Ohio for Coney Island conversion?
