WILMINGTON, NC — One of the early criticisms of the project to bring a new park and amphitheater to downtown Wilmington was about parking. The city had a great new venue (now called the Live Oak Bank Pavilion), but didn’t add a parking area for the thousands expected to attend shows there.
Once things opened, fans of live music found a way and it’s really not that bad. Folks adjusted to find spaces on nearby streets, some paid lots and even paid parking. But now, starting Sunday, August 6th, fans will have an option of using the parking deck that used to be owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific. The city bought that entire campus to eventually consolidate city offices there.
City Council on Tuesday voted to open up the 1022 space parking deck to the public. It will begin with the Slightly Stoopid and Sublime with Rome show scheduled for Sunday. Special event parking will cost you $20. You can still find free parking on side streets, but now there’s one more option for music fans. The city will eventually open up the deck to daily parking for the public as necessary.