GRANTSVILLE — The Tooele County Health Department issued an official notice of closure to a local amphitheater owner who planned to host a concert sponsored by activists opposed to pandemic-related restrictions.
The department sent the notice to Jason Manning, owner of the Amphitheater at Studio Ranch, Wednesday after the Tooele Board of Health held an emergency meeting to discuss the concert.
The planned concert violates the yellow guidelines issued by Gov. Gary Herbert to combat the spread of COVID-19, which currently prohibits mass gatherings.
According to a press release from the health department, if Manning decides to hold the concert anyway, then he could face criminal charges under Utah law.
“(The order) was expected,” Manning said. “I guess they don’t respect the Constitution.”
He declined to comment on whether or not he would still host the concert.
Eric Moutsos, founder of the Utah Business Revival and the concert sponsor, announced on Facebook Wednesday evening, “Despite some of the messages in the media, we are still a go for May 30th from 5-10 p.m. at Amphitheater at Studio Ranch. See you there.”
In a video statement, Moutsos said, “I just wanted to do this quick update, in light of all of that, we are still a go. If you’re a small business, you’re invited to come for free. If you’re the general public, you’re invited to come for free. We’re really excited about it. We believe this is kind of a tipping point in America right now. And that our freedoms really are on the line.”
He continued, “If you would have said this four months ago, listening to country music, trying to save businesses was going to be the most radical thing in the country, or at least in the state of Utah, nobody would have believed it. But here we are.”
He ended saying masks were being donated, and they have medical, security, and hand-washing and hand sanitizing stations planned.
“It’s going to be really great,” Moutsos said. “And so don’t be afraid, whatever you’re hearing in the media. ... I believe this is about faith over fear.”
Amy Bate, spokeswoman for the Tooele County Health Department, said the Board of Health, the health department and the county health officer are all in agreement “that this gentleman Jason Manning needed to not allow the concert to happen on his property or face criminal charges.”
Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne said the county has been granted a temporary restraining order against the venue to restrict it from hosting the concert on that day. The order was issued by 3rd District Judge Dianna Gibson.
“As of last night, the organizer and owner said they were going to continue with the concert. We’ve had conversations and it was nice, but it became clear that they were going to proceed with it anyway,” Milne said Wednesday.
The concert was originally going to be held in Kaysville until residents and the city council pushed back, saying they didn’t feel like the community’s best interests were being considered when Mayor Katie Witt made the decision to allow it.
Milne said he is sympathetic to Manning and Moutsos because he would love to see an event that would help small businesses in the county and give people a break from the pandemic.
However, he stressed that he’d only be OK with it if the organizers went through the proper channels and processes to ensure the event could be held safely. He said the same rules apply to any event organizer — local or not.
“There are a lot of factors that come into entertaining and playing host for a crowd that large,” Milne said. “The larger it becomes then the more folks need to be involved.”