SANDY -- In six months, the air here could be filled with honeybees and the three B's (Bach, Brahms and Beethoven).
Sandy city and Salt Lake County leaders recently broke ground to begin construction on a 2,000-seat amphitheater on the northwest corner of 9400 South and 1300 East.When completed, the amphitheater will include 500 permanent seats and grass seating for about 1,500 people, said Sandy assistant chief administrative officer Shane Pace.
Pace said a tentative grand opening date has been scheduled for Aug. 20. Three days later, the Utah Symphony is slated to break in the amphitheater with an evening concert. A local production of "The Music Man" will take the stage on Aug. 26.
The future amphitheater will offer a performing arts forum that Sandy residents can embrace, officials said.
"Other than (Washington County's) Tuacahn Amphitheater, I think this will be the best amphitheater in the state," Pace said. The covered stage will be designed for flexibility to accommodate both musical and theatrical productions.
The stage also will include an orchestra pit and a basement with dressing rooms and a green room. The permanent sound and lighting system will be compatible with any supplemental stage equipment needed for traveling shows, Pace said.
The amphitheater is expected to cost about $3.5 million, built on property already owned by the city and funded through a government innkeeper's tax. Sandy residents will not see a tax increase, Pace said.
The local architecture firm Eaton Mahoney Associates is designing the amphitheater. Layton Construction has been hired to do the building.
The Sandy amphitheater is the first element of a 22-acre "arts campus" that will eventually include a community arts center, performing arts center and children's theater.