CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A new amphitheater is taking shape in Yoctangee Park, city officials said this week, marking visible progress on one of the signature pieces of a $35 million state-funded overhaul of the park.
The venue will include a covered performance shell, spacious turf seating areas, ADA accessibility, extensive electrical capacity to support festivals and other programming, and nearby restrooms, according to a social media post from the city.
City officials said the amphitheater is designed to help connect Yoctangee Park with Historic Downtown Chillicothe, giving residents and visitors more reasons to move between the two for events and everyday visits.
The amphitheater is one of several projects funded by a $35 million grant Chillicothe received from Ohio’s Appalachian Community Grant Program in 2024. The city partnered with Ross County to submit a joint application covering 12 counties and 30 communities across southern Ohio, an effort that won $154 million from the state, including $45 million for Ross County projects. The program, funded through Ohio’s designation of American Rescue Plan Act dollars, is investing a total of $500 million across Ohio’s 32-county Appalachian region.
Beyond the amphitheater, the Chillicothe award is paying for a full restoration and expansion of the historic Chillicothe Armory into a welcome center, a permanent home inside the park for the Chillicothe Farmer’s Market, and upgrades to the gateways and streets surrounding the park and downtown. A timber-framed pavilion for the farmers market is already under construction nearby.
Mayor Luke Feeney called the grant “truly a once in a generation opportunity” for the community when the award was announced, saying it completes the vision set out in the Yoctangee Park master plan and will make the park “a destination that matches the scale and importance” of the region’s UNESCO World Heritage designation.
A completion date for the amphitheater has not been announced.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the City of Chillicothe.
