11-12-20 feasibility study recommends moving amphitheater off oven island

A long awaited feasibility study says while there is a market for a restaurant and amphitheater at Fond du lac’s Lakeside Park there are some logistical concerns with the proposed locations of the facilities.  A consultant hired by the city presented their findings at Wednesday night’s council meeting.    The recommendations propose moving a restaurant further to the west off the lighthouse peninsula, and moving an amphitheater off Oven Island.  The consultant instead recommends an amphitheater be built on the Saputo Cheese property near the entrance to the park, or Lakeside Park west,  where the city originally proposed that it be located.    City manager Joe Moore says the biggest concern appears to be addressing concerns about traffic flow near Oven Island.   Spokesman for the business group Lakeside Forward, Tom Schermerhorn, says he wants to review the report to see their reasoning before commenting.  Schermerhorn says the report shows there is a market for a restaurant.   “They showed there’s a $20 million possibility of restaurant and beverage that’s leaving the community that we’re trying to capture here.  Their (consultant) assessment that the park is dated and needs some enhancements is what we’ve been trying to do all along,”  Schermerhorn said.  Friends of Lakeside Park spokesman John Papenheim says he’s pleased with the recommendations.   “They (consultant) sounded like we’ve sounded all along.  Let’s move the restaurant off the lighthouse peninsula.  Let’s not build an amphitheater on Oven Island.  That’s exactly what they told us tonight,”  Papenheim told WFDL news.  The study says the restaurant and amphitheater could provide a $3 million economic impact to the city.