Gospel groups, hip-hop artists and blues bands took to the amphitheater stage for two days of music during the annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee last weekend, marking the first time the street festival has utilized the concert space and the first time it has been occupied this year.

After more than three years and $2.2 million, the amphitheater is still missing many of the amenities it was slated to have when it was introduced in 2011 –there are no restrooms and no concessions, no seating and no shade, no sound system and no dressing rooms, no media room and no meeting spaces.

And, according to Selma City Council President Corey Bowie, there are no firm plans in place to finish the project, despite a widespread desire to see it become a viable event space in Selma.

“There’s still a few things that need to be finished up, some minor things,” Bowie said. “We are constantly working with Planning and Development to bring the amphitheater to full usage.”

Plans for the amphitheater were hatched around 2011, when the city received a $250,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), and construction officially began in August of 2012.

Progress was slowly being made until October of 2013, when a bidding error caused the Selma City Council to reject all incoming bills and switch construction firms in an effort to bring down the cost of building the space.

The event space was scheduled to be completed by December of 2014 but was pushed back until Valentine’s Day of 2015 and, eventually, it opened in August of 2015 with its first event being held one month later.

The Riverfront Music and Arts Festival, hosted by the Black Belt Benefit Group (BBBG) over Labor Day weekend in 2015, was billed as a family-friendly day of music and arts on the river, featuring national and regional acts like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Montgomery blues musician John Bull.

According to Councilman Carl Bowline, a member of the BBBG, the local organization lost money on the event and has been hesitant to host another at the outdoor venue.

During the Labor Day festival, city leaders held an event that blocked the entrance to the amphitheater and confused would-be festival goers, despite the organization’s efforts to include the city in every aspect of organizing the event.

Though the BBBG was able to use the space at no cost, the cost of paying the musicians and production company needed to provide sound and lighting for the event cost more than the non-profit was able to collect on ticket sales.

Bowline said the organization lost thousands.

“The city has created an environment where it doesn’t seem conducive to business or fun,” Bowline said. “You just wish the city would create a more inviting environment.”

For his part, Bowline thinks the amphitheater is a valuable asset to the community and a top-notch performance space for visiting musicians.

“It’s a viable space and the music sounds good on it,” Bowline said. “It needs the city to stand united behind it.”

Clay Carmichael, also a BBBG member, agrees and thinks the city would be wise to consider investing in a few upgrades.

For one, Carmichael notes that the lack of shade around the amphitheater, which makes the grassy lot in front of the stage “unbearable” during prime concert season, could be remedied by planting a few trees on the property.

Additionally, Carmichael said the cost of renting the venue should be lowered to encourage organizations and promoters to utilize the space.

“I think it could be a huge asset to the community,” Carmichael said, noting that BBBG is still looking at ways to use the performance space. “There are many positives about this and we can work to improve whatever we have. If we work together, then we can get it done and get it done right.”

One practice that Carmichael is opposed to is the habit of local politicians using the space at no cost to advance their own ambitions.

“Politicians doing events in these public places at no cost to themselves to assist their campaigning is wrong,” Carmichael said. “They shouldn’t be using public spaces for free to get them a leg up on whomever they’re running against. They need to pay as much, if not more, than a non-profit would have to pay. It politicizes and polarizes the event space and really makes it less of a community space.”

Bowie believes a full revitalization of Selma’s downtown entertainment district, starting with the sale of the St. James Hotel, is necessary to make the amphitheater a city feature capable of attracting events and visitors.

“It is way under-utilized,” Bowie said of the amphitheater. “We’re going to have to start working on the redevelopment of downtown. We’re going to have to push forward and make sure downtown is vibrant.”

Bowie said that promoters involved with this year’s Bridge Crossing Jubilee have already reached out and shown an interest in hosting events at the local venue and the city is looking at ways to utilize the space for other events, such as weddings.

Bowline also noted that the council has approved the purchase of a building alongside the amphitheater space, where restrooms and other facilities could be installed, but it is unclear when that process will begin.

“So many of our citizens think of us as a dying city,” Bowline said. “I prefer to think of us as a thriving town. Let’s be what our city needs us to be. Let’s use that facility to bring these people to town and create a fun environment.”

The Selma Department of Planning and Development did not respond to a request for comment.