Sean C. Morgan
After its biggest Oregon Jamboree ever, the Sweet Home Economic Development Group is planning a couple of huge changes, a new location and a second festival.
Linn County and SHEDG, which owns the Oregon Jamboree, are partnering to build a permanent Jamboree facility on a former Morse Bros.-Knife River rock quarry site at the north end of Clark Mill Road along the south shore of the South Santiam River.
SHEDG also plans to host a second festival, with a different musical genre, one week in advance of the Oregon Jamboree in 2013. The Oregon Jamboree is a three-day camping and country music festival, from which proceeds are used to fund local economic development projects.
“The county has possession of the mill site,” said Jamboree Festival Director Erin Regrutto. “They have some really exciting plans for that property.”
The property is part of a master plan developed by Dan Desler, Troy Cummings, Development by Design and Western States Land Reliance Trust. Linn County owns the portions that had been controlled by Desler and WSLRT after foreclosing for nonpayment of property taxes. The new facility will be located on the 193-acre rock quarry portion of the former WLSRT property.
The property is authorized for residential development, said Sweet Home Community Development Director Carol Lewis. It will require a master plan amendment to allow the new festival site. A smaller venue had been approved in a different location on the WLSRT property, originally Willamette Industries and Weyerhaeuser mill property, near 24th Avenue.
“The ultimate goal is to turn it into a huge multi-use recreational facility,” Regrutto said. It could host a series of concerts and potentially become part of the Linn County parks system, allowing the public access to the South Santiam River. In theory, it could provide year-round camping and a solid base of revenue.
“At this point, we have a shared vision, and we are developing a conceptual plan,” said Linn County Commissioner Roger Nyquist. The camping, recreational access and festival-event facility is focused on the former Knife River area and will have a access through the old mill property to help minimize conflicts with area residents.
“Our vision is to do (the event site), and then we’ll determine what other options present themselves with this property,” Nyquist said.
“I think we all agree it should be as multipurpose as possible,” Regrutto said. “It needs to be as usable and accessible as possible. It’s a really special location here in Sweet Home. We haven’t been able to use it to the best of its ability.”
“The property looks like it’s straight out of a travel magazine,” said SHEDG Board President Kevin Strong. “Our hope is it can be a catalyst for continued improvement in Linn County, and it’s very exciting to be a part of it.”
“Imagine a half dozen events per year,” Nyquist said.
Regrutto would like to see it eventually used by more than SHEDG and the Jamboree, she said. She would like to see promoters using it for their own events, including a variety of different types of smaller events.
The project won’t require the entire Knife River section, Nyquist said. “The property just dwarfs what we need.”
Ultimately, the Jamboree would like to move everything to the new site, Regrutto said. “The camping and music. It would eliminate a lot of the headaches for the community and us too.”
The site would allow the Jamboree up to about 3,000 campsites, Regrutto said. The new site could accommodate upward of 20,000 to 25,000 people, including parking and camping.
This year, the Jamboree had some 14,000 attending on Friday, headlined by Rascal Flatts, Regrutto said. She believes the heat kept attendance down to about 13,000 on Saturday, while Sunday was the biggest ever, at an estimated 13,500.
That was also the first time to her knowledge that Sunday was bigger than Saturday, Regrutto said. “The Chris Young-Dierks Bentley combo was a killer. It’s very expensive to put this festival on. Regardless of the bottom line, this event was fantastic.”
Regrutto cautioned that record-setting attendance does not equal profit because expenses have increased for regular operations and to expand the festival and its features.
“That’s the vision, to expand the festival,” Regrutto said. “We are at capacity.”
The Jamboree would like to bring even bigger acts, she said, and that requires more space.
Before the Jamboree could move to the site, the county and Knife River must finish dealing with environmental issues on the property, Nyquist said. The property still requires some reclamation.
“Knife River can do that in a way that complements this vision,” Nyquist said.
Nyquist said it might take two to five years, although he said he hoped it wouldn’t take five.
The county and Jamboree are still deciding what type of facility to build, whether to have an amphitheater or alternative, Regrutto said.
In the meantime, SHEDG is moving forward with the development of a second festival, an idea that has floated around the Sweet Home community for nearly as long as the Jamboree has existed.
“What we would like to do is start this festival next summer,” Regrutto said. The tentative plan is to hold the festival the weekend before the Jamboree. It will not be country, but precisely what style of music remains to be determined, but it will likely be in the alternative-independent vein.
The Jamboree has some 700 volunteers, Regrutto said. She thinks that the second festival could draw different volunteers who are not interested in country music. The Jamboree management team and staff will help organize at least the first festival.
After the Jamboree moves, Regrutto thinks the festivals would require fewer people to run the show, and she anticipates a combination of paid and volunteer positions.