RIVERSIDE COULD BE HOME TO 15,000 SEAT AMPHITHEATER
For decades, Northlanders have traveled far and wide to attend concerts and musicals, but that may soon change.
Riverside city officials and a private company known as Live Nation have been exploring the concept of building an outdoor entertainment venue on 125 acres, located near Interstate 635 and Horizons Parkway.
Live Nation Entertainment is an American multinational entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live entertainment internationally.
Mike Duffy, community development director for the City of Riverside, said the city has entered into a land access agreement with Live Nation to carry out an analysis of a prospective site to determine if the area is a suitable home for a new amphitheater.
“We are in the process of trying to determine whether it makes sense to build an outdoor amphitheater in Riverside,” said Duffy.
Though there are a variety of live entertainment companies out there, Riverside is working with a key player in the industry. Live Nation is one of the biggest live entertainment providers in the world. Live Nation manages a large portfolio of entertainment venues.
Though it isn’t a done deal, the potential project at Riverside is far enough along that some analysis and preliminary site work have taken place.
The proposed amphitheater and parking facility would occupy about 125 acres located on the southeast corner of the Horizons Industrial Park, directly west of the new KC Women’s Soccer Training Complex.
The prospective amphitheater would feature a giant stage and 15,000 seats. With seating capacity in the neighborhood of 15,000 seats, the amphitheater would surpass several other open-air venues, including the Starlight Theatre.
An amphitheater of the proposed size has the strong potential to serve as a hub for concerts or musical theater and attract top music artists to the area.
Duffy said the proposed amphitheater would offer elevated seating that fans out. Video screens and a food court may enhance the concert experience.
Although the community will not have a whole lot of opportunities to provide input on the design specifics, city officials are considering all potential nuisances posed on neighboring businesses and homes.
“Our concern will be if you put a facility like this in the community how will we minimize the impact noise has on businesses or residents,” Duffy added.
City officials said they have been actively updating the city’s comprehensive plan to ensure that the city utilizes best practices and is creating favorable opportunities for new projects in the market.
The outdoor amphitheater would primarily be funded by private funding sources. The city has the ground for the 125-acre project and has received some funding from the state.
City officials are cautiously optimistic the project will evolve past the project initiation phase.
“We are hopeful this project happens, but we could wake up tomorrow and the whole thing falls apart,” Duffy warns.
City officials will have a better idea of the project’s feasibility soon, likely before the end of the year, Duffy indicated.
“I am hoping we move forward with an agreement,” said Duffy.
If all goes as planned, construction of the amphitheater would take about a year and a half.
For quite some time, city officials have been looking for ways to bring this type of venue to the area.
Ask residents and visitors for their impression of Riverside a couple of decades ago and their response was full of extreme optimism.
Longtime employee Duffy said it has been exciting to be here during this time of rapid growth. Riverside once had a reputation as a place frozen in time. But the arrival of Argosy Casino in 1994 changed all that, and new developments have revitalized the Riverside community.
“Now, incredible businesses have showed up and incredible people have moved in,” said Duffy.