St. Augustine Amphitheater is looking at reopening in September

Jacksonville, FL — The Amp is just one of many music venues across the country forced to close its doors because of the pandemic.

Normally the venue draws thousands of visitors who also help fill local restaurants and hotels, boosting the area's economy.

Right now the seats are empty.

"As far as the economic toll, I don’t know right now," said Dianya Markovits, marketing and community relations manager for the St. Augustine Amphitheater. "I think that’s going to take a little bit for us to determine."

The venue had to cancel at least a dozen shows and postpone even more scheduled for the next few months.

Markovits is confident that the Amp will bounce back with live entertainment this year, and said management hopes to reopen in September.

She said the Amp is talking with other venues across the world to figure out the best and safest way to reopen.

Being an outdoor venue does give them an advantage with the open air.

"We are looking at timed entrances. We’re looking at utilizing various entry points so that not everybody comes in at the same time all on top of each other—that’s going to be the biggest thing," Markovits said. "Obviously, having personal protective equipment if people want it, sanitization spots for people so they can keep their hands clean."

On Thursday and Friday the Amp will offer refunds to those who purchased tickets at the box office for shows that were subsequently cancelled or rescheduled.

“If you purchased online through ticketmaster.com it’s still going to take Ticketmaster to issue the refunds,” she said. “As of yesterday, they started to re-issue those refunds for cancelled and rescheduled shows.”

The amphitheater box office will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. to process refunds. Customers are encouraged to wear masks and practice social distancing when coming to the box office.