Fort Rocky gets stamp of approval

Entertainment Minister Olivia Grange announced late last month that Fort Rocky in Port Royal has been designated the island's first entertainment zone.

Having had some time to mull the announcement, party promoters, for the most part, are giving Fort Rocky a stamp of approval.

Romaine 'Luigi' Brown said he believed the venue was a good choice. Pointing out that it was located in an area where the noise from an event would cause no disturbance, Brown said he would host one of his events there.

"I understand why they made out there an entertainment zone because it's out of the populated area. Yuh nah trouble nobody in the surrounding areas, so it was a good choice," he said. "I have never kept an event out there, but I have been to events out there and I like the space so I would carry any of my events out there."

But Brown highlighted one drawback with Fort Rocky. The man behind events such as Hennessy V and Heineken Daybreak said the venue might present a problem for new promoters as not all partygoers will want to travel all the way to Port Royal for an event.

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"Seasoned promoters would be more likely to host their events there because they would have a loyal fan base and anywhere they keep their event, the crowd will follow but maybe most promoters wouldn't go out there," he said. "For a new promoter it might be more difficult for them to go all the way out there because they are unsure if patrons will follow and for any promoter that's the bottom line, getting people to come out to your event. So it might not be attractive to them."

Jywanza Hall, co-promoter of Allure, also likes the venue, but, like Brown, believes it will only be accessible to a few promoters as not everyone can afford to host their events there.

Hall therefore wants the powers that be to think about the 'small man' and what he is able to access when declaring entertainment zones.

"They will have to think about not just finding locations but finding locations everyone can access. A 'likkle man' keeping his event and can only manage to pull a crowd of 500 people wouldn't' think about a Fort Rocky, but they would want to access a space where their event can be considered for an extension because the noise won't disturb anyone," he said. "So I would like them (the persons in charge) to come up with packages and locations that will fulfil different persons needs."

Entertainment zones are areas in which any legal entertainment and sports activities can be staged any time of day or night unhindered as long as the organisers are mindful of the historical values of such sites.