Auditorium Shores is a step closer to closing for a year.
Today, the Austin Parks and Recreation Board voted to recommend that City Council approve a plan to upgrade the park with a $3.5 million donation from an Austin-based event planning company C3 Presents. You can watch that meeting online.
The improvements would include an improved irrigation system, new turf grass and an enhanced off-leash area for dogs. At 3.2 acres, the off-leash area would be the largest in Austin, city officials say, and it would include dedicated shoreline for pets to splash around in Lady Bird Lake. The eastern third of Auditorium Shores would be a pet-free zone.
The Parks and Recreation Department's assistant director Cora Wright says the deal, which is still being negotiated, would not come with any obligations from the city to C3 and says the company would still pay to use Auditorium Shores for events.
"Once we have gotten approval from council, then we will move forward with negotiating an agreement,” she told the board.
C3 Presents has a multi-year contract with the city for use of Zilker Park’s Great Lawn for its ACL Festivals.
