Ford Shed Noise Plan

Clear Channel Entertainment has come up with a plan to reduce concert noise at Tampa, Fla.’s Ford Amphitheatre.

In a nine-page document, CCE spelled out how it would spare neighbors from hearing the likes of Judas Priest and Korn, according the St. Petersburg Times. But the explanation was reportedly vague and mostly devoted to why the county’s noise ordinance is unfair.

Aside from “other potential physical improvements” that aren’t described in the document, the company suggested two remedies: repositioning lawn speakers and installing a barrier to absorb sound. At the same time, it continued to urge the county to ease noise restrictions.

CCE’s proposal is a court-ordered effort to settle a lawsuit filed in January by Hillsborough County officials who claim the 20,000-seat shed violates local noise rules.

Officials with the county’s Environmental Protection Commission, which enforces the noise ordinance, will have three weeks to review it and ask CCE for more information, according to the Times. A public hearing with residents who live near the venue would then be scheduled before county commissioners vote on it in October.

EPC attorney Rick Tschantz reportedly said the proposal was CCE’s “most sincere offer that they’ve made,” but added it would take weeks for officials to have it analyzed by sound engineers.

Clear Channel has argued that the EPC holds the amphitheatre to a different standard than other venues when it comes to the county’s noise ordinance.

In December, the EPC sued Clear Channel and the Florida State Fair Authority, which owns the land, seeking to halt concerts until the promoter proved it could comply with local noise ordinances, according to the Tampa Tribune.