The question of whether Amarillo residents can expect any concerts to take place at the downtown baseball stadium currently under construction is in question due to a clause in the contract between the baseball team and the City of Amarillo.
According to the contract signed by the City of Amarillo and Elmore Sports Group, owner of the team that will play in the downtown baseball park, the City of Amarillo is allowed use of the stadium for twelve events every year. The contract specifies that each of those twelve events must be "non-commercial," meaning that they are free of charge for attending parties and are open to the general public.
However, while the contract does not allow the City of Amarillo to hold any for-profit concerts or events at the stadium, the owner of the team may schedule such events and games, as they have exclusive control over the stadium except for during those twelve events.
Also during the events at the stadium hosted by the City of Amarillo, the City shall be required to reimburse the team's owner for the events within thirty days of the event. If the City fails to reimburse the stadium owner, the team is allowed to offset any amounts in their payments (including rental payments) to the City.
The clause from the contract has caused concern from some that concerts and other events may not take place as previously suggested by supporters of the stadium's construction. During the 2015 election in which Amarillo voters approved a non-binding referendum that allowed for the construction of a $32 million field, Dr. Paul Matney, spokesperson for the Vote For Amarillo campaign that supported the stadium, said that concerts would be a part of the stadium's purpose.
"Not only will the MPEV host our local baseball team as an anchor tenant with 50 to 60 baseball games per year," Matney wrote in the Amarillo Globe-News. "But it will be an attractive and diverse gathering place for our community with events like concerts, family movie nights, car shows, scout campouts, a staging area for 5K and 10K races, music festivals, health fairs and much more."
A similar venue in Texas, Security Bank Park in Midland, at one time scheduled an annual fall concert. The concert, with tables available for seating, ranged from $1,000 to $6,000 for a single table during its 2012 concert. The concerts were headlined by the likes of Big & Rich and the Josh Abbott Band, however, there are no other similar events that are typically scheduled at the arena, as most concerts and comedians visiting Midland have scheduled their shows at the 1,819 seat Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center.
As of right now, there have been no announced plans to hold any particular events following the stadium's projected completion in April of 2019.
Photo by ABC 7 Amarillo