BamaJam may stay in Coffee County

By Kelly Tabor

Published: July 3, 2008

BamaJam may not be leaving Coffee County after all.

In the wake of the enormously successful BamaJam music festival, Enterprise developer Ronnie Gilley said he hopes to keep the 3-day event in Coffee County in the future.

A 600-acre field on Highway 167 south served as ground zero for BamaJam, and now Gilley is rethinking plans to hold the festival at the future site of Country Crossings, which is set to open in 2009 on just 150 acres.

At a press conference at his office Thursday morning, Gilley said he wants to see Coffee County host BamaJam each spring, and hold another music festival in conjunction with the Peanut Festival each fall. According to Gilley, 218,000 people came to BamaJam when only 30,000 people were expected, and the festival earned an excess of $250,000 in sales tax for the city of Enterprise. Gilley expects final figures to be released next week.

“All walks of life came to BamaJam,” said Gilley. “There were rich people, poor people, white, black, Hispanic. It’s what America is comprised of.”

Gilley hopes to build on the success of BamaJam with Country Crossings, a “retail and dining entertainment district” featuring a dinner-music theater, saloons, amphitheater and live music.

The press conference turned political when Gilley said he has officially endorsed Harri-Anne Smith for U.S. Representative, in part, because she supports his Country Crossings project. Gilley railed against Smith’s rival Jay Love for what he called “blatant and absolute lies” from someone who “built their entire campaign on moral issues and Christianity.”

Gilley said Love asked for campaign donations and declared his support for Country Crossings, but Love later retracted, citing his concern about gambling.

“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday (at Country Crossings), people are guaranteed to see a multi-platinum country music artist perform. One small component - Bingo - is associated with Country Crossings,” said Gilley, who anticipates that the venue will create more than 5,000 jobs. “How can you be opposed to a major economic stimulus package that would be probably the largest job creator in the history of the state of Alabama?”

Gilley expects a delineation study to be completed in the next two weeks.