The conclusion is based on the premise that the $10-million, 19,500-seat amphitheater is well designed and managed, including the use of a concert sound management system. The Metropolitan Council and the mediation group agreed to hire a team of consultants last year, which includes William Cavanaugh Tocci Associates of Sudbury, MA; Shen Milsom & Wilke/Paoletti of San Francisco and Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. of Burlington, MA.

The cost of the sound study was shared equally by the Metropolitan Council, the city of Bloomington and Rose Wild LLC, which has proposed the project. The consultant teamcarried out testing last November, conducting background sound testing at nine sites in Burnsville and Bloomington to document the existing acoustical environments in each of the nearest neighborhoods.

The mediation group was formed by the Metropolitan Council last August when the council agreed to review the potential noise impacts of the proposed facility. Themediation group includes representatives of the cities of Bloomington and Burnsville, representatives of the Bloomington Amphitheater Coalition and Citizens Alliance for Responsible Ecology (citizen groups), and Rose Wild LLC. The mediation group will meet next month to see if the finding will help the group reach an agreement.