Keeping Cuthbert alive.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Eugene bills itself as the "World's Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors." The slogan doesn't trip easily from the tongue, and the acronym looks like Welsh, but the boast has substance: Eugene is, and aspires to be, a great place for people who love the outdoors, and also a great place for people who love the arts. The Cuthbert Amphitheater combines the two. Keeping the outdoor concert venue alive tests the city's ability to live up to its PR.

Early signs are encouraging. The lineup of performers appearing at the Cuthbert this summer looks like one that will sell tickets. Ticket sales are like oxygen, and last year's take at the gate left the Cuthbert gasping for breath. Paid attendance totaled only 3,500, a quarter of the number the year before and one-sixth the peak recent year of 2003, when more than 21,000 tickets were sold.

After last year's disappointment, the city of Eugene signed a five-year contract with Kesey Enterprises and Double Tee Concerts to operate the amphitheater. The Kesey-Double Tee partnership prevailed over two other bidders, which is encouraging in its own right: Three impresarios thought they could break even or better at the Cuthbert.

Kesey and Double Tee offered the city the most attractive financial package. One of the competing bidders believes the bids should have been evaluated on a basis other than how much revenue they would generate for the city. Eugene City Councilor David Kelly contends that the council should have had a chance to review the decision to contract with a for-profit operator. These complaints might have been avoided with a clear set of criteria for evaluating bids, and a determination of whether the contract was a policy matter subject to council review. Even so, it's in everyone's interest to see Kesey and Double Tee succeed.

They ought to be able to. Kesey Enterprises is run by Kit Kesey, operator of the McDonald Theatre in downtown Eugene. Double Tee promotes concerts all over the Northwest. The combination of local knowledge and regional connections can be expected to bring popular events to the Cuthbert.

The lineup so far looks like one that will draw crowds: Lyle Lovett on July 6 and 7, Widespread Panic on July 11, String Cheese Incident for a three-night run on Aug. 4-6, Los Lobos on Aug. 10, Buddy Guy on Aug. 11 and Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo' on Sept. 6 and 7.

Ticket prices are on the high side, ranging from $22 for Los Lobos to $44 for Bonnie Raitt and Keb' Mo', with even higher prices for reserved tickets at some shows. The pricing illuminates one reason the Cuthbert has had trouble. With a capacity of 4,500, it's large enough to require a big-name act to fill the seats, but small enough that the guarantees demanded by top entertainers can't be spread over tens of thousands of ticket-holders. Promoters have to hit a sweet spot in the market by finding affordable talent that lots of people will pay a premium to see. Kesey and Double Tee hope they've found the right combination.

As one consolation for the high ticket prices, the Willamette Valley Folk Festival moved to the Cuthbert last weekend, and admission was free. The festival's home for the past three decades has been the lawns behind the Erb Memorial Union on the University of Oregon campus. The move reintroduced music-lovers to the Cuthbert Amphitheater and kicked off the summer season. Anyone who was there Saturday night when the Sugar Beets played felt the magic of the place, and it's good to have so many reasons to look forward to returning.