Council Votes on Ampitheater Today

David Menconi at the N&O reports that today the Council will vote to allocate $60 thousand dollars to the design of a forth coming $1.5 million dollar downtown amphitheater. The project originally was expected to be a $4 million dollar venue with more substantial plans including a tent and more seating. Live Nation has stepped away from a potential partnership and plans were reigned in. The new version is over 4,000 folding chairs and lawn area for 800 with no tent. The amphitheater will sit in the shadow of the convention center across the street from the Shimmer Wall.

The loss of Live Nation (formerly part of Clear Channel) could be a mixed blessing. The mega-promoter has publicly stated that it is working to increase ticket prices and is currently pursuing a merger with Ticketmaster. Live Nation will still work with the city to produce some shows for the venue they will not monopolize the 20+ shows expected each concert season at the new venue.

Assuming the council approves the design funding we could see the amphitheater open as early as next May.

News and Observer

hackles1008/04 05:42 AM

Shit!

Folding chairs and no tent? I thought we already bought the covering from denver/boston?

Not a Live Nation fan, but I was looking forward to the $4million original plan. I would imagine this venue, if successful would have generated huge parking/tax revenue, and brought people downtown, and would have paid for itself in a short period of time!

TSnow2760408/04 07:28 AM

From what I know, the success of the DPAC is due in large part to their relationship with Jim Goodmon from Capitol Broadcasting. Partnerships should not be easily dismissed.

oakcity08/04 09:01 AM

bring on slayer!!

Dugald08/04 09:30 AM

Why? This is a stone’s throw from Memorial Auditorium/Ctr for Performing Arts which handles similarly sized events indoors, and Moore Square, which handles similarly sized events outdoors. I just don’t see the need.

hackles1008/04 09:44 AM

^awesome logic, because we have an indoor auditorium and a public square park, we shouldn’t build a kick ass downtown ampitheater on otherwise unused public space.

I am constantly amazed at some of the idiotic posts on here.

Close your eyes, and picture a kick ass ampitheater hosting band of horses, or arcade fire, or and intimate acoustic set by sugarland if thats your thing, with the shimmer wall in the background, an awesome tent over the top, and the moonlight pouring over the downtown skyline.

Yeah, we have moore square, why would we want that!

Cydney08/04 10:02 AM

We need something better than Moore Square because I don’t think anyone is going to figure out how to better organize events there. The City closes off the adjacent streets but then the streets are also closed off from the actual event by the wall of Port-a-lets.

gd08/04 10:07 AM

Chicago has a hell of a lot more to offer than Raleigh does, but they built the king of ampitheaters that is heavily used…. and hopefully, next summer by me all summerl ong.

tito08/04 10:19 AM

moore square lacks appropriate parking and amenities for what the city does there. the notion of having a concert “in the park” is great except when you get down to the logistics of moving that much traffic through a very compact area. obviously this new venue won’t help with the larger shows (two downtown live shows so far this summer had to start turning people away or doing “one out/one in”) but it will help provide an outdoor venue with four parking decks and two hotels within a block. not having live nation may be a good thing as the city won’t be obligated to host events that aren’t likely to generate interest. kudos to live nation for pushing diverse acts at walnut creek, but some genres do not sell tickets in raleigh (see ticket numbers for rap acts at walnut creek). the amphitheater will potentially be a good place dedicated to live music and live events, which is much different than trying to do those events in a park or on a street that weren’t built to accommodate the traffic/people.

also - dugald - i think the performing arts center’s memorial auditorium holds around 1300. that’s not even close to what the amphitheater will house.

dt08/04 11:05 AM

I’m totally for having a kick ass downtown amphitheater with an awesome tent over the top, come on Raleigh, you just started getting it together, do this right please

RaleighMAC08/04 11:36 AM

Tent or no tent, I think this is going to be amazing! Outdoor concert venues are wonderful for cities around the world, and Raleigh doesn’t have one. I am truly excited that the city has approved this, with or without the tent and larger size… seating for 4,800 seems great - and a much better use of space than the current dirt plot currently across from the shimmer wall. I say - Thank you, Raleigh! Job (mostly) well done!

myk08/04 05:01 PM

so, who’s getting the 60k and bragging rights?

JeffS08/04 05:34 PM

These are the weakest arguments I’ve seen. I’m not saying Moore Square is adequate, but please…

Parking? Last I checked, there were parking decks at both locations.

Kick-ass venu? - When does a tent and folding chairs equal a venue?

I guess I’m just at a loss to explain why the city seems intent on shoving all development into this corner of the city noone goes to. We’re going to have a whole part of town dedicated to nothing but locations people use once every couple of months. The lack of spacing seems odd. Anyway, my theory is that this will be their excuse for whitewashing Moore Square.

Matthew Brown08/06 07:41 AM

Moore Square is flat, and is full of big beautiful trees, benches, iron lamps, benches, and flower beds. All these things make it a very lovely park, and a nice venue for Artsplosure, First night, SparkCon, and other similar events. All these things make it totally unsuitable for 4,000 people trying to watch a stage act.

Memorial Auditorium has upholstered seats and an elegant lobby and restrooms. It is not suitable for big boisterous crowds carrying beer and chili dogs, watching a loud band. Furthermore, it is booked most every weekend, either with shows or concerts, or rehearsals or load-ins.

This amphitheatre is a great idea. And I’d rather look up at the stars than a tent, anyway. But I suppose I’d rather look up at a tent than a bucket of rain. I hope the seating has a good rake. The “lawn” should be steeper than the folding chair area, unlike at the Art Museum amphitheatre.

arthurb308/10 11:22 AM

Ditto, Matthew.

Bradley Upchurch08/13 05:18 AM

Raleigh is now at a population of almost 400,000. It’s time to start being a REAL city. No more building everything in the sprawling suburbs. Raleigh’s downtown should be the epicenter of all activity. If it’s a little crowded on concert nights…..SO WHAT. So is the RBC Center and Walnut Creek. Frankly I am very excited about the efforts to improve the quality of our downtown. No more tearing down historic buildings or warehouses and putting small businesses there that will thrive on the downtown atmosphere.

That being said the lot at which the arena will be built is vacant and ready to go. I am excited to see Raleigh have its own downtown arena for concerts as other major cities have had for years. It’s a step in a great direction.

PS: If you expected Raleigh to stay a city of suburbs, and strip malls think again. It was only a matter of time before things would be brought back to their rightful place…downtown. It’s time Raleigh has its own identity and character. I am excited for the amphitheatre and other projects!

jp08/13 05:37 AM

those suburbs and strip malls aren’t going anywhere!

myk08/13 06:39 AM

so no one knows who is going to be designing it?

dj08/13 07:10 AM

I will be honest, I have not followed this project that closely. But why spend our money on an amphitheatre if we are going to do it half ass? We have enough 2nd tier locations in Raleigh, we do not need another. Do it right or do not waste our money. We have a great piece of property that should be used for something that should fit our “top ranked” city! I can see us spending money if it is going to be something great, that will draw a lot of people and money into the area, and we get a promoter in downtown to book real concerts. However, we do not need another half ass city project that can only get the same artists Moore Square can handle, or maybe a little better. We always talk about Raleigh moving up the ranks and how we have a lot of new projects coming online in the city to keep with the growth. We don’t need to rush into spending our money without really thinking this through and trying to potentially find another partner. What is so important about getting this built so quickly? We still have a lot of businesses closing due to the economic conditions and lack of money (people) coming into downtown. DPAC is great, but like another post stated, they get help from Jim Goodmon and Capitol Broadcasting.

On a side note, parking is not an issue at Moore Square and there are a lot of bars and restaurants already around this area for before and after the shows. That is part of the great downtown live concert experience that outside-the-belt-liners enjoy. This keeps those businesses operating and more people in downtown for longer periods of time. This also brings them back when shows are not going on. The city does not utilize Moore Square and Fayetteville street enough as it is, why rush to build something else that will be under utilized? I love the idea of a 1st tier amphitheatre along with a partnership in downtown, but I’m afraid this will be another city project that could leave the developed area and businesses around Moore Square and City Market in trouble.

And local elections are coming up! I can’t wait to ask all the candidates how they feel about this one!

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David Tuesday, August 04, 2009