Live Nation has strengthened its venue portfolio by agreeing deals to run two new amphitheatres in the US.

The promoter is partnering with industry real estate company Swervo Development Corp on a 19,000-cap open-air facility in Shakopee, Minnesota, scheduled to open in late summer 2025.

The venue will host more than 30 concerts each season and is expected to provide a significant boost to the local economy – creating 700 permanent jobs and serving as an anchor tenant for a $400 million (€381m) entertainment district being developed around the site.

Jordan Zachary, president venues for Live Nation, says the facility “fills a big gap in the local venue landscape”.

“Our Minneapolis-based team looks forward to creating a place where fans from all around can come to make lifelong memories while adding to the deep music history in Minnesota,” he says.

Set to be the region’s largest outdoor amphitheatre, it will include a covered lower bowl with prime seating, an elevated lawn, and both indoor and outdoor hangout spaces for fans. It will have 11,000 fixed seats and lawn space for up to 8,000 people.

LN will be responsible for overseeing operations, with a remit to attract top touring talent and deliver an “exceptional hospitality experience”.

“Live Nation supports artists with deep expertise that will bring many more amazing shows in our region”

“This partnership is an incredible opportunity to create a venue that meets the needs of artists and fans,” adds Ned Abdul, president and CEO of Swervo Development Corp. “Live Nation supports artists with deep expertise that will bring many more amazing shows in our region. We’re committed to build spaces that support the community and energise the economy, while providing entertainment, and are excited to bring this vision alive.”

Elsewhere in the US, Live Nation has also reportedly secured a 25-year deal to promote shows at the 12,000-cap Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The project broke ground earlier this year and is slated to be launch in May 2026, with plans to stage more than 50 concerts a year.

As part of the agreement, Live Nation will pay the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) $10 million upfront for ongoing construction and another $10m “at a time mutually agreed to” to purchase “furniture and equipment”.

Back in January, Colorado-based hospitality and live music company Notes Live (now Venu) also selected Live Nation as the operator for its 12,500-cap Sunset Amphitheater, which is planned to launch in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, next summer.

Live Nation owns or operates more than 265 concert venues in North America, including 60 of the country’s top 100 amphitheatres. Speaking at a conference in September, Live Nation boss Michael Rapino discussed how the firm’s venue strategy ensured business remained robust in 2024.

“We always knew this year was going to be a little light on stadiums, but we were going to do our best then to monetise our venues, our amphitheatres, where the business walks in our door and we can manage it,” he said.

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Rock in Rio founder Roberto Medina has unveiled a “visionary project” to create the largest entertainment complex in Latin America.

In partnership with financial group Genial Investimentos, the Imagine scheme will transform Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park, home to Brazil’s iconic Rock in Rio festival since 2017 and site of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, into a leisure, sports and entertainment centre.

The complex will house at least 10 distinct areas, including the main 100,000-cap space – the largest events park in Brazil – plus Latin America’s biggest amphitheatre (cap. 40,000), capable of attracting top international acts.

“Forty years ago, we created an innovative project that came back to stay in 2011. Now, we are going even further,” says Rock World president Medina. “In addition to Rock in Rio maintaining its permanent structures, we are valuing the legacy and making the space ready for various entertainment events. We will use all of our expertise to build, together with the various levels of municipal, state and federal government, a policy that places tourism as the main vocation of this city and the country.

“What would take years to build will be done in a period of three to four years. We already have the structure of the Olympic Park practically ready to bring Imagine to life. We have to embrace entertainment as the key to boosting the city’s economy, creating jobs, bringing companies from various sectors and even more development to Rio de Janeiro.”

Other attractions will include the Rock in Rio Factory, which will take people behind the scenes of the festival, a museum in honour of the Rio 2016 Olympics and various parks, as well as a creative hub, theme park, gamer arena, skate park, ice rink, gastronomic hub and resort. It will be the stage for celebrations such as Carnival, Easter, Oktoberfest, Halloween, Christmas and New Year, as well as music, dance and sports events.

“This is a transformational project for Rio de Janeiro”

The project also includes a mobility scheme integrating all types of transportation in the city and is expected to generate an economic impact of R$9.2 billion (€1.5bn) for the Rio economy, along with more than 140,000 jobs

“This is a transformational project for Rio de Janeiro,” says Genial Investimentos CEO Rodolfo Riechert. “Genial Investimentos has been a long-time investor in Rio de Janeiro, and together with our partner Roberto Medina, we will help transform Imagine into reality.”

Rock in Rio returns to the Olympic Park over two weekends this month for its 40th anniversary edition from 13-15 & 19-22 September. Headliners will include Travis Scott, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Shawn Mendes and Avenged Sevenfold.

A special feature celebrating 40 years of the biennial festival will appear in the forthcoming issue of IQ.

Medina debuted spin-off music festival The Town last year at the Interlagos race track in São Paulo, attracting 500,000 fans over five days for acts such as Post Malone, Foo Fighters, Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars.

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US entertainment company Notes Live has struck a preliminary agreement for the development of a 20,000-seat open-air venue in McKinney, Texas.

The Sunset Amphitheater will serve as the flagship music venue for Colorado-based Notes Live and represents the largest venue among its locations.

It will be designed to host major touring artists, and will boast facilities including more than 250 luxury fire pit suites, a reserved seating area, and a landscaped grass berm, all under a roof structure. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2024, with the development expected to be completed for the 2026 touring season.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing our biggest venue to date to McKinney, Texas,” says JW Roth, founder and CEO of Notes Live. “They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and for the Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, that was our guiding principle – bigger, and better. McKinney is an incredible community, and we can’t wait to build the most over-the-top venue on earth.”

“With a state-of-the-art venue of this size, we can draw some of the largest musical acts to the city”

The project, which is estimated to bring an economic impact of US$3 billion to the area over its first decade, is a joint effort by the city, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation and the McKinney Community Development Corporation.

“This world-class music venue is a game-changer for our entertainment offerings in McKinney and will be a boon for our economic growth and tourism sector,” says McKinney mayor George Fuller. “With a state-of-the-art venue of this size, we can draw some of the largest musical acts to the city and attract fans from across Texas and the surrounding states.

“This new addition to our community will bring even more life and energy to our already thriving arts scene and undoubtedly continue to set McKinney apart as an entertainment and cultural hub in the region.”

Over the last 12 months, Notes Live opened a new venue in Gainesville, Georgia, and is developing new music and entertainment complexes in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with capacities of between 12,500 and 25,000. Its 8,000-cap Colorado Springs amphitheatre, The Sunset, is set to open later this summer.

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Live Nation’s plans for a new 15,000-cap amphitheatre in the US near Kansas City have been given the green light by officials.

Local aldermen unanimously approved the company’s proposals to develop the estimated $110 million project in Riverside, Missouri, which will have 10,000 covered seats along with space for an additional 5,000 concertgoers.

Construction is expected to start early next year, with a target opening date of late spring/early summer 2025.

Kansas City is a host city of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico. A number of matches are set to take place at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.

“Destination Riverside is truly what we’re trying to achieve. This plays right into that vision and that goal for us”

“When the World Cup comes, the current training facility will be home to one of the major teams that will be in Kansas City and hopefully we’ll be able to play into that amphitheatre to be able to provide access to watch when they can’t get into Arrowhead,” Riverside Mayor Kathy Rose tells Fox4.

The report notes that Kansas City currently misses out on some major tours despite already boasting venues such as the AEG-operated T-Mobile Center. The 18,000-cap indoor arena opened in 2007.

“Destination Riverside is truly what we’re trying to achieve,” adds Rose. “This plays right into that vision and that goal for us.”

According to Yahoo! News, city leaders also approved a preliminary development plan for the project, which includes 15 ancillary buildings and more than 5,400 parking spaces.

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Work is underway on a $30 million (€28m), 7,500-cap amphitheatre project in the US, being led by Coran Capshaw’s Red Light Ventures.

The venue in Richmond, Virginia is earmarked to open in spring 2025 on Gambles Hill, and will welcome 25-35 concerts a year, as well as hosting community-based activities. It could also serve as the primary stage for the annual Richmond Folk Festival.

The city council approved a 20-year performance grant agreement for the development over the summer, with fencing going up on the site in mid October, reports Richmond Bizsense.

“Richmond is known for its vibrant arts and music scene, but for too many years, big-name artists have bypassed the city because it didn’t have a suitable venue,” Capshaw told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “This spectacular location offers the ideal place to showcase and build upon the growing energy surrounding Richmond’s riverfront.”

“Richmond can often be overlooked by big-name artists who are looking for a venue that’s large enough to meet the demand of their fanbase”

Red Light Management founder Capshaw, who manages acts such as Dave Matthews Band, previously partnered with the City of Charlottesville to develop the 3,500-cap Ting Pavilion in 2005. Red Light is working on the Virginia Amphitheater scheme with Virginia-based IMGoing Events, with concerts to be arranged via Red Light’s promotions arm, Starr Hill Presents.

Grant Lyman, Live Nation’s southeast region president, said the new venue would fill a void for touring artists between Washington DC and the Carolinas.

“The fan and artist’s experience here in Richmond will be world-class, bringing fans downtown to the riverfront with a background that showcases the city’s urban growth,” Lyman told the council committee, as per Virginia Business. “Richmond can often be overlooked by big-name artists who are looking for a venue that’s large enough to meet the demand of their fanbase, as well as capable of supporting their production needs.”

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Live Nation has signed a three-year exclusive booking deal with BankPlus Amphitheater in Southaven, Mississippi, bolstering its presence in the region.

The 12,500-cap. venue opened in 2006, and has hosted shows by artists including Willie Nelson, the White Stripes, ZZ Stop, Velvet Revolver, Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney.

“We jumped at the chance to work with BankPlus Amphitheater and the city of Southaven,” says Live Nation regional president Russell Doussan.

“Officially operating this venue enhances our ability to serve artists looking to make stops in Mississippi and the south”

“Amp[hitheatre]s are a key part of the touring pipeline, and officially operating this venue enhances our ability to serve artists looking to make stops in Mississippi and the south.”

Doussan’s New Orleans-based regional team will operate the venue from a satellite office in Southaven.

“Live Nation is the best in the business, and the BankPlus Amphitheater is in great hands under their leadership,” adds Darren Musselwhite, mayor of Southaven. “With the world’s largest touring operation, Live Nation will bring more artists to Southaven than ever before, which will improve the appeal of our city for locals and tourists alike.”

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AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, AEG’s live entertainment operation in the western United States, has partnered with Aspen-based independent DDM Presents for the launch of a new concert series, Whistle Pig Vail, at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, Colorado.

The 2,565-cap. outdoor venue (1,265 seated + 1,300 standing), nestled in the Rocky Mountains and described by AEG Presents co-president Don Strasburg as “one of the most beautiful venues in the world”, will with Whistle Pig Vail host “headliner rock and pop all summer long”, with artists and dates due to be announced in the coming months.

The amphitheatre (pictured) is currently home to a range of cultural and entertainment events, including classical music and dance shows, local theatre productions and the free weekly Hot Summer Nights concert series.

“We can’t wait to help bring more world-class music to the Colorado mountains”

“Our Vail Valley community loves music, and we couldn’t be happier to be bringing incremental, great music offerings to the beautiful Ford Amphitheater with the help of a legendary group like AEG Presents Rocky Mountains,” comments Mike Imhof, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Foundation, which owns and runs the venue. “Vail in Summer 2018 is going to be better than ever before, and will set the bar for many years to come in the mountain music scene.”

“The Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater is one of the most beautiful venues in the world, and we can’t wait to help bring more world-class music to the Colorado mountains with the Whistle Pig Vail concert series,” adds Strasburg.

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Performers at CTS Eventim’s Waldbühne amphitheatre played to more than 350,000 people during the 2017 concert season, recording the open-air Berlin venue’s highest yearly attendance to date.

A total of 22 events, eight of them sold-out, also pushed the Waldbühne (‘Woodland Stage’) to the top of Pollstar’s 200 leading amphitheatres by ticket sales in Q3 2017, up from fifth place in Q3 2016.

Summer 2017 highlights included sold-out shows by Robbie Williams, Pink and Udo Lindenberg, along with performances by Aerosmith, Kings of Leon and Andreas Gabalier and classical concerts by Ludovico Einaudi, Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov (newly exclusive to DEAG) and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The successful Peace x Peace charity festival, meanwhile, raised nearly €414,000 for children living in war zones.

“It’s great how the Waldbühne Berlin has developed over the past nine years”

The season closed with Rumpelstil’s now-traditional Taschenlampenkonzert (‘torch concert’), which for the 19th time saw attendees “dance, sing and celebrate in an ocean of light”, says CTS, which has operated the 22,000-cap. venue (pictured), built for the infamous 1936 Olympic Games, since 2009.

“It’s great how the Waldbühne Berlin has developed over the past [nine] years,” says CTS Eventim executive vice-president Rainer Appel. “By now it is not just the leading European open-air location, but also a frontrunner worldwide. Once again, we’d like to thank the artists, promoters and visitors who together with us made 2017 another record year for the Waldbühne.”

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