BEDFORD -- Roanoke officials have discussed building an amphitheater for more than a year. It took Bedford supervisors just one night to approve a privately funded version at Smith Mountain Lake.

The Bedford County Board of Supervisors voted 6-0 Monday to approve a rezoning of 40 acres for a 7,000-seat amphitheater near the intersection of Virginia 122 and Hendricks Store Road (Virginia 655). Supervisor Andy Dooley provided the motion for approval.

The developers behind Sweetwater Amphitheater at Eastlake, Darrin Snyder and Holly Sweet of Tennessee, say they want to begin construction soon and have their facility open by next year. They plan to bring about 30 concerts between April and October each year to the amphitheater.

Supervisor Dale Wheeler alluded to Roanoke during his comments prior to the vote.

"I think our neighbors to the west missed the boat by not having any real plans after they tore down Victory Stadium," Wheeler said. "There was discussion of an amphitheater across from the civic center," but the project never came to fruition.

The Bedford board's decision could have ramifications for any future project proposed in Roanoke. The idea of building an amphitheater on public land was pushed by the "For The City" slate of candidates, which swept municipal elections last year. Vice Mayor David Trinkle has made the pursuit of an amphitheater his main issue since he started his term, and the city council has spent time discussing whether such a project would be better suited for the old Victory Stadium site or Elmwood Park.

Trinkle's idea is similar to Snyder and Sweet's, with both facilities having projected capacities of about 7,000 people.

But Snyder and Sweet, natives of Boones Mill and Moneta respectively, would build their amphitheater with private money and not taxpayer dollars, as proposed in Roanoke. That has made a big difference in moving the project forward.

Snyder said there's another big difference between private and public amphitheaters.

"We want to be very cautious with who we bring into the area," Snyder said. "We're going to bring things that are appropriate for the area and not bring things that aren't appropriate."

The managers of a publicly owned amphitheater have less discretion in that regard, he said.

Snyder and Sweet have been talking to county officials since March 2006 and formally started the rezoning request process in November. Last month the county planning commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval for the request.

Only one person spoke at the public hearing Monday night, and he was in favor of the project.

Although David Anderson, a managing principal with the Timmons Group who presented the project on behalf of Snyder and Sweet, addressed issues of noise, lighting and traffic, supervisors still had concerns. Supervisor Gary Lowry said he was worried about alcohol, particularly after attending the NASCAR race in Martinsville last weekend.

"With respect to alcohol, being able to serve it gives you the springboard to control it," Snyder said.

Sweet said controlling alcohol is an important responsibility for such facilities.

"I don't want any patron having their experience ruined because I won't responsibly control alcohol on site," Sweet said.

Lowry seemed pleased with the response to his questions.

"I had a lot of questions about alcohol -- I'm not a fan of alcohol -- but you've answered every one of them," Lowry said.

Other supervisors seemed happy with the proposed amphitheater as well.

Supervisor Steve Arrington said he was glad Snyder and Sweet came to "this side of the bridge and not the other side" in Franklin County.

And Supervisor John Sharp said the amphitheater will be a "tremendous asset to the community."

"I'm not going to go down the road talking about tax implications, but just the quality of life this venue will offer our community," Sharp said.

Snyder and Sweet still have to receive some permits and get their site plan approved by the county.

They said they hope to open the amphitheater in 2008.