Mega Star to hold show on Saturday

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ The first show at MegaStar amphitheater on Lake Eufaula will be held Saturday. <br><br>Country and western singer Brad Duvall will be the headliner. <br><br>The amphitheater has

Tuesday, July 1st 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) _ The first show at MegaStar amphitheater on Lake Eufaula will be held Saturday.

Country and western singer Brad Duvall will be the headliner.

The amphitheater has had major financial problems.

Individual bond holders sank $5 million into the project. The Eufaula Industrial Authority later filed a bankruptcy action because of the project, which has left a debt trail of more than $11 million.

Former longtime Mayor Joe Johnson ended up being ousted from office in 1998 after being convicted of 10 counts of embezzlement, some of which involved his authorizing payments from MegaStar bond funds for rent on property he owned near the site.

Promoter Dale Rankin and city officials hope events he is planning at the amphitheater will be successful.

``I'm ready to get goin' - it's taken me six months to get this thing out of bankruptcy court and get it this far,'' Rankin said Monday. ``I just want to get the doors open to test the waters.''