DELMAR,
Md.- For months now, Delmarva has been buzzing over an
exciting project taking shape in Wicomico County. The Amphitheater at
Heron Ponds in Delmar has already played host to three concerts, and
those behind the project say that is just the beginning. While plans
are moving forward, the process hasn't been without
challenges.
Preliminary designs for the Amphitheater at Heron
Ponds site were recently approved by the town of Delmar. The
project's architect, Keith Fisher, said that approval is good news
for the Eastern Shore.
"It's unique to the Eastern Shore,
being that an amphitheater on this scale, a project that involves the
community, brings everybody to a point where they would have to go
off the shore to achieve the same sort of experience that the project
is going to bring to the area," he noted.
Besides the concert venue, the site
also includes single-family homes, age-targeted housing, athletic
fields and a restaurant.
According to Fisher, the project has
been well received, but it has also come with challenges. Flood
waters drowned out the site back in August, forcing the cancellation
of Kellie Pickler's concert. While the show was rescheduled and went
off successfully, August's wash-out highlighted an all-too-common
problem.
"As every site on the Eastern Shore goes,
everything is dead flat. So, our "tail that wags the dog"
is storm water management, sewer provisions," explained Brock
Parker, the project's civil engineer. "But I think with Mr.
Marshall's commitment to the project, we can get these hurdles
overcome."
Project mastermind, Doug Marshall, said he has
experienced losses so far, but is still excited to see the project
moving forward.
"I call it successful, because we had 5,000
people between the concerts," he said. "My bookkeeper calls it an
expensive hobby right now, because the losses were pretty substantial
per concert, because we had rain events for each one."
According
to Marshall, the design includes cover for concert-goers, which will
allow events to go on rain or shine. He said there will be no more
concerts until the amphitheater is built. The goal is to have it up
by this summer.
