Tuscaloosa’s amphitheater is set to open Dec. 3, said Clif Penick, facilities manager for the City of Tuscaloosa.

“[Red Mountain Entertainment] has acts booked for 2011 with the grand opening scheduled for late March,” Penick said.

Penick said city officials constructed the amphitheater, located by the Black Warrior River just across from The Tuscaloosa News, because of a perceived need.

“Our elected officials saw the need for one to keep pace with other cities our size and to provide a source of entertainment and enjoyment for our citizens,” Penick said.

“Our city does not have a venue with a seating capacity of this size. The University no longer has one.”

Penick said the site was ideal because of the history of the location.

“We had this great piece of riverfront property that we couldn’t do anything else with because it was a former landfill,” Penick said. “It created an opportunity to enter into an agreement with [Alabama Department of Environmental Management] to implement a Voluntary Cleanup Program on the property.”

The venue itself is designed for flexibility, Penick said.

“We designed the amphitheater as a multi-purpose venue to be flexible enough for small and large performances,” Penick said. “We designed it for not only concerts but other occasions like receptions, parties, festivals, community meetings, the Triathlon car and boat shows.”

Penick said the seating capacity is around 7,500. He also said there are 241 parking spaces on the actual amphitheater grounds and 4,000 spaces “within a short walking distance.”

Daniel Nikles, a junior majoring in construction engineering, said he was excited about the new venue for Tuscaloosa. Nikles said he travels around the Southeast to attend shows and festivals.

“The farthest show I have ever traveled to see was in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., an 18-hour drive if you’re lucky,” Nikles said. “Most good bands that I have seen, I have had to travel out of state to Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.”

Nikles said the size of the shows and the popularity of the bands he wants to see requires him to travel.

“Small shows are hard to get into in Tuscaloosa, usually because they are in bars that cannot hold large capacities,” Nikles said. “Tuscaloosa needs a big music venue.”

Grant Venable, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, agreed.

“Tuscaloosa kind of struggles to draw any real attention for shows because we don’t have a venue to compete with the BJCC in Birmingham or the one in Huntsville even,” Venable said.

Venable said the new amphitheater should provide Tuscaloosa with the venue it needs.

“From what I’ve heard, the grand opening show should have some bigger names coming to it, so if that continues it could be a great addition to Tuscaloosa, especially since it’s a college town,” Venable said. “I’d go to shows there just because it’s close by.”

Adam Morrow, a senior in New College and member of Tuscaloosa band Callooh! Callay!, said the amphitheater has a lot of potential.

“I think the amphitheater has the potential to be a great thing for Tuscaloosa, if handled the right way,” Morrow said.

Morrow said he felt students, now numbering more than 30,000, could become the amphitheater’s main audience.

“A student body as large as the University’s is a powerful force,” Morrow said. “If the people in charge of the amphitheater handle their jobs responsibly, the venue has the opportunity to become a draw not just for campus or Tuscaloosa, but the region and state.”

Morrow said the success or failure of the venue would depend on how Red Mountain Entertainment managed booking.

“They can play it safe and book shows similar to the pattern that our own University took over the last several years with the homecoming concerts, which were forgettable debt creators or they can do something really cool,” Morrow said.

Morrow, also a local musician, said the new amphitheater would have little to do with his band’s day-to-day operations.

“As a local artist, the amphitheater doesn’t seem like it has very much to do with us,” Morrow said. “If there are community events that take place there and local bands were showcased, that’d be fun, but it’s not something that will impact how we operate on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis.”

Morrow said Red Mountain Entertainment faces an enormous challenge in trying to meet demands from both students and the rest of the state.

“It’ll be impossible to make everyone happy, but I think there’s a balance that can be struck to bring money to Tuscaloosa and make all of us fickle students content at the same time,” Morrow said. “I’m just not jealous of the person who has that job.”