Authority seeks plans to renew Jekyll Island amphitheater

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — An amphitheater on an island owned by the state of Georgia could get new life.

The Jekyll Island Authority voted Tuesday to seek proposals to redevelop and lease the outdoor arena on the coastal island near Brunswick.

The amphitheater last hosted an event in 2004 or 2005, The Brunswick News reports. It sits on 3.4 acres (1.4 hectares), with 2.7 acres (1.1 hectares) of adjacent parking.

Authority Executive Director Jones Hooks said the authority wants to determine whether the arena can be reused. There’s no deadline for proposals and the authority isn’t promising to subsidize the project.

“This is a proposal that obviously you’ve had interest in for some time, and it seems that the time is now right to at least move it forward to a point of seeing what kind of proposals we may receive regarding the amphitheater on Jekyll,” Hooks told board members, noting new hotels opening on the island.

The authority completed a structural engineering study on the amphitheater in 2012 to assess the concrete bleachers. But in 2016, Hurricane Matthew damaged the theater. Hooks said he had talks with some groups interested in the arena before the pandemic, but interest dissipated with the spread of the virus.

“No doubt it will take some significant resources to bring the amphitheater back,” Hooks said.