At first there was nothing but acres of rolling farm land offering Interstate 95 travelers a tranquil scene as they headed south to Florida or north toward New England.

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Each day thousands of people drove by. What if they stopped and shopped? What if they stopped and stayed a day or two? It would be a boom to the area’s economy when the Roanoke Valley was reeling from the closure of its final textile mill and wondering what would happen next.

City and business leaders were eager to find new industry and turn the city’s economic trends upward. The potential was huge but what industries or businesses could we attract? What would it bring a permanent positive change in our Valley’s economy.

Those were some of the concerns when the idea of an entertainment district first evolved.

What happened next began as a fairy tale turned into a nightmare and today still has hopes of success although seriously streamlined, and in the view of many a more realistic economic model.

One of the most controversial figures in the Parton theater saga started the story while on a visit to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and the theme park bearing the name of Randy’s famous sister, Dolly.

Rick Watson was the director of the Northeast Partnership, a state sponsored organization of 16 Eastern Carolina counties designed to encourage economic development.

Watson’s job was to bring jobs to economically stymied Eastern North Carolina, including Northampton and Halifax counties.

In 2004, Watson handed his card to one of Randy Parton’s assistants and to his surprise heard from the entertainer.

Parton would tell The Daily Herald he was looking for an opportunity to strike out on his own. He turned his eyes toward Roanoke Rapids.

In December 2004, records indicate the city had already teamed up with the Halifax County Tourism Authority and developers — Michael Dunlow and George Ragsdale — to make a pitch to the Partons (Randy and his wife, Deb) to create a “music and entertainment district.”

Records obtained by The Daily Herald, show by January 2005, the city and the Partons had signed a letter of intent to contract for the creation of a district and to construct a theater for Parton to lease. There had still been no public announcement, according to city records. The public and the media had no inkling of what the city was planning. When asked to comment on the rumors, neither the city nor Parton would speak on the record.

In April 2005, Economic Research Associates (ERA) completed a market feasibility on The Randy Parton Theatre.

The study points to several potential problems with the development, but endorses the project.

ERA describes the theater as “a market-viable attraction concept” if certain underlying assumptions are met.

The assumptions included:

• “Key elements of a larger proposed development (Carolina Crossroads), including two hotels, at least 200,000 square feet of retail and additional entertainment/amusement opportunities are operational by the time the theater opens.

• The theater is competently and proactively managed to maximize earnings and deliver a product in tune with the marketplace.

• The show(s) associated with the Theater are of a high quality, are regularly ‘refreshed’ with new content and are appropriately targeted to draw from resident and visitor market segments.

• Pre- and post-opening marketing efforts are sufficiently funded and are successfully targeted to generate a healthy mix of resident and visitor market attendance.

• The theater achieves an average, per attendee ticket price of about $23 …

• The $3 million reserve funded by the city is an available resource for covering expected start up costs and operating deficits.

• No major act of terrorism or war, or other major economic shocks, have significant negative impact on the domestic and local tourism economy during the forecast horizon.

A study of the record and the correspondence generated during the lifetime of the Parton operation indicates few if any of the underlying assumptions for the theater’s success were ever met.

While Michael Dunlow announced a variety of land sales and plans for the Carolina Crossroads property — only two additions have actually been built. The Carolina Crossroad RV Resort and the Hilton Garden Inn are open and doing well, according to most reports.

Left on the drawing boards are such concepts as five different restaurants, another hotel, a billiard and pool emporium and an aquarium.

In its analysis of the theater project, ERA warned “potential delays in the overall development phasing would tend too have negative impacts.” The lack of additional development in Carolina Crossroads has been blamed for some of the theater’s problems.

Parton opened the theater with a single show but planned on changes to the show for the holiday season. He was dismissed from the theater’s management and his performances canceled before he had the chance to make the changes. The house band did however continue on for several months and staged several shows.

The handling of the $3 million fund became a point of contention as hundreds of thousands of dollars went to Parton and were spent for questionable expenses.

The marketing of the theater also turned out to be a problem. A marketing director wasn’t brought on board until July 2007 when the theater opened.

Additionally, Parton who was supposed to be managing the theater apparently sought to move the responsibility of marketing it back to the city. An attorney stepped in and warned should the city become involved in the active management, it could lead to legal problems and relieve the Partons of their responsibilities.

Many of these problems remained hidden in June 2005, when the project became public, and development agreement for the creation of the district and theater was signed with a groundbreaking planned for November.

Sunday: The next installment in Behind the Curtain looks at how thousands of dollars were spent on the theater and what it cost the city.