The city of Sisters is canceling its option to buy land it had considered using for an amphitheater, citing opposition from community residents.

The city has notified the owner of the 11-acre site and expects to get all of its deposit back, City Manager Andrew Gorayeb said Wednesday.

A lack of consensus from within the community prompted the withdrawal of the real estate offer, he said. Supporters had hoped the estimated $4 million amphitheater would be an economic boost for a community with no industry beyond tourism. The site’s proximity to the city center and housing was one of the concerns of amphitheater opponents, along with the fear that it might not be self-supporting and the city would end up subsidizing the facility.

“It’s too bad; I’m very disappointed but there was nothing we could do,” Gorayeb said.

The amphitheater site, which also included a proposed small RV park, was north of downtown near the terminus of the Sisters Airport runway. As conceived, the amphitheater would have been open from May through October. The overlap with Sisters’ already busy tourist season was a major concern for opponents, who worried about traffic, parking and congestion.

Last month the city held an open house to solicit ideas for other projects that would stimulate the community, either with visitors outside the summer season or with new residents lured by the quality of life.

“We basically said ‘OK, we hear you, there’s not enough support (for an amphitheater) — what do you want to do?’” said Sisters Mayor Brad Boyd. The four most popular ideas at the meeting with approximately 150 attendees were a winter sports complex, an indoor sports facility, a midsize convention space and an arts and sciences center.

Not all of the concepts would be appropriate for a city to spearhead, Boyd said, but they are worth investigating for partnerships.

“I look at things as revenue generators or cost centers and all the ideas have potential to generate income so that is a good thing,” Gorayeb said.

The city will soon be forming a committee to vet all four ideas, with the goal of choosing the most viable to bring back to the community to see whether there is enough support, Boyd said.

The amphitheater controversy did have one good outcome, the mayor said. It raised awareness of the need to build the economy in Sisters and prompted residents to come forward and get involved.

“We’ll get there; I’m very hopeful,” Boyd said.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, lpugmire@bendbulletin.com