The Charlottesville Pavilion, a $3.5 million joint endeavor between the city and local developer Coran Capshaw, opened on the Downtown Mall yesterday. Jazz group Karl Denson's Tiny Universe launched the new venue with a free show. About 1,000 people were present at the show an hour after the gates opened, according to mustictoday.com representatives, who were in charge of distributing tickets.
The Pavilion "makes Downtown a destination for entertainment and arts," said Kirby Hutto, general manager of the Charlottesville Pavilion. "That's been a vision of city fathers for the past 25 years."
The outdoor facility offers 2,800 covered seats, as well as a lawn seating area. When construction has completed, the Pavilion will be able to accommodate between 4,200 to 4,300 patrons.
According Hutto, the new site allows for live music in a covered, outdoor environment in all but the most extreme weather conditions.
"The overriding reason [for building the Pavilion] is to have a facility that is large enough for national acts and is covered so events will not be rained out," Hutto said.
The Pavilion's season will run from May to October.
According to the company Web site, the venue hopes to present 20-25 larger shows per season, as well as continue the free Fridays after Five Concert series.
Although the facility will not be finished until 2007 when the permanent restroom facilities in the transit center are complete, the Pavilion has already booked a number of events for the remainder of the season. This year, country music star Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam and the Violent Femmes will all headline at the Pavilion. Beginning this Friday, the facility will host the remaining ten performances from Fridays after Five.
Due to other city projects near the site, a number of concession stands at the facility have not yet moved in. According to Hutto, more vendors will open in the next four to six weeks as the construction finishes.
Another major project still underway involves the Pavilion's roof, which was damaged in a storm earlier this month. According to Hutto, the replacement parts are en route from a factory in Hungary and will be installed next week.
Although the Paramount Theatre also recently opened downtown, Hutto says the Pavilion is not worried about competition because of the different seasons and types of events.
"There's no other venue [our] size," Hutto said. "The Paramount holds events primarily in the winter, and Ashlawn primarily in the summer. We feel very complementary."
Larry Banner, vice president of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, said the opening of the Pavilion will have a great impact on the downtown area.
"If people are spending time on the mall, then they're spending money on the mall," he said. "With the addition of a paying concert venue, people are making the choice to attend a musical event [Downtown]. They're going to want to do something before and they're going to want to do something after. Odds are that will include spending money on the downtown mall."
Charlottesville Mayor David E. Brown, who attended the opening event, agreed.
"Before, the mall sort of petered out
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