Two regional concert promoters have expressed interest in managing an amphitheater in Roanoke, but both are wary of the city's request for proposals on the project.

Officials with Jefferson Center and Red Light Management, the group that runs the Charlottesville Pavilion, said they were concerned with the city's implication that interested groups might have to ante up money for construction. The 20-page document wraps the design, construction and management of an amphitheater into one big project.

Brian Townsend, Roanoke's assistant city manager for community development, said the idea is to get various firms to work together for a consistent vision.

The price tag of the amphitheater could vary depending on the design, but a consultant earlier this year estimated it could cost upwards of $11.6 million.

The deadline for responding to the city is Sept. 13.

"There's a lot of things in the RFP that are sort of confusing to really wrap your head around what the city is really looking for," said Dylan Locke, Jefferson Center's artistic director. But he added, "The whole concept of the management collaborating with the designer: That's actually a good idea. ... It makes sense for there to be a consistent vision and management being in at the ground level as it's being built."

Locke isn't sure whether Jefferson Center will respond to this request, but it wants to be in on the discussion.

A similar stance was expressed by Kirby Hutto, manager of the Charlottesville Pavilion. Last month, Roanoke City Councilmen Brian Wishneff and Sherman Lea name-dropped the Pavilion as an example of a well-done downtown amphitheater. And Vice Mayor David Trinkle has made no secret that he has targeted the group to come to Roanoke. But Hutto said Red Light Management isn't likely to respond to this version of the city's request.

"It looked like they were looking for someone who was going to put up the money, which is something we're not interested in," Hutto said. "We're not interested in being the developer of the project. We would have interest in managing the project."

Hutto also expressed some confusion over whether the city council has selected a site for the amphitheater yet. He has heard from proponents of both the former Victory Stadium site on Reserve Avenue -- where the city council voted to place the amphitheater -- and Elmwood Park.

"Once the decision is made, we'd have some interest. But we're not interested in getting in the middle of Roanoke politics," Hutto said.

That there's still confusion on where the amphitheater is going frustrates Trinkle, who has pushed hard for the river site.

"They should know the decision's been made for the river," Trinkle said. "It's a strange thing here in Roanoke. People are asking for direct leadership and moving the city forward.

"But there's also this concept that once a decision's made, and it's clearly made, and the four of us are saying we're not going to change our votes, they're still creating this sense that all decisions are subject to being overturned, no matter how far down the road you go. That's no way to operate a business and certainly no way to operate a city."

Trinkle said that at least two sources have told him that council members in favor of Elmwood Park have contacted Red Light Management to discourage it from responding to the request for proposals. All three councilmen who voted against the river site -- Lea, Wishneff and Bev Fitzpatrick -- denied that they have been in touch with the group.

"Obviously, that's just a lie," Wishneff said.

Trinkle admits that he has been in touch with Red Light Management to encourage them to apply for the project. Fitzpatrick said it's probably best not to contact any potential vendors before the closing date on a request for proposals.

"It's not right to get involved and try to push something one way or the other," Fitzpatrick said. It's better, he said, to wait until there has been a response.

So far, Townsend said, no one has responded to the request. If the deadline passes with no response, it's unclear what will happen next.

"We'd be back at square one, and I think we'd have to rethink it," Fitzpatrick said.

Wishneff said that no response would indicate the river site is a poor location. But Mayor Nelson Harris said a lack of response may indicate the city went about the process in the wrong way.

"We'd have to modify it a bit to get a more positive response," Harris said. "I think that would be, at least in my mind, the appropriate response should that be the case."

For Trinkle, a lack of response to the river site doesn't then put Elmwood Park into play as an alternative.

"At the end of the day, if we don't get a response, we just won't have an amphitheater," Trinkle said, before adding a shot at the Elmwood Park proponents he says have tried to discourage Red Light Management: "If that's what the business people want, then they can keep at it."

Wishneff's response: "That sounds like a little kid taking his toys home."