Is it curtains for amphitheater era?
It doesn't take a second for David Kells to recall the first concert he ever saw: Aerosmith with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Starwood Amphitheater, 1990. Over the next 16 years, few summers passed without Kells catching at least one show from the grassy slope at Starwood. Not this year, though.
The 22-year-old Nashville, Tenn., amphitheater was sold for 4.2 million to a developer who plans to level it and build homes where Kells and his buddies once partied under the stars.
Amphitheaters in at least four other markets - Columbus, Ohio; Sacramento, Calif.; Indianapolis; and San Antonio - are up for sale and at risk of closing. People who monitor the concert industry say the outdoor venues, known as ''sheds'' in the business, aren't as financially feasible as they once were.
Arenas can bring in more revenue with tiered ticket pricing, and the land where many amphitheaters were built 20 years ago has become prime residential property with enticing real-estate values. ''It's similar to what happened with drive-in movie theaters. You couldn't justify using that much land for that purpose,'' remarked Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert industry publication Pollstar.
The Salt Lake Valley's largest outdoor concert venue, the 20,000-seat Usana Amphitheater in West Valley City, is not facing that challenge.
"Not yet," said United Concerts President Jim McNeil, who books and promotes concerts at the open-air amphitheater at 5150 S. 6055 West.
"But who knows what's going to happen?" McNeil said he is acutely aware of growth in the Salt Lake Valley, citing the ever-rising value of real estate. Still, he added, "at this point, I have an amphitheater.
. . .
That's what I built it for and I have no intention of doing anything else with it." Jim Bringhurst, president of the Utah Association of Realtors, said it's only a matter of time before development reaches the far corners of the Salt Lake Valley, including areas such as where the Usana Amphitheater operates. He hopes things that make communities distinct - such as outdoor venues - aren't automatically bulldozed in the process.
"As time goes on, eventually the land will be developed," Bringhurst said. "But you hope that there's going to be a conscious effort to develop it wisely." Los Angeles-based promoter Live Nation, which sold the 65-acre Starwood and owns the four other amphitheaters on the market, said the divestiture is part of the company's plan to maximize the value of its real-estate portfolio.
''The venues targeted for sale are either in small, noncore markets or larger markets where the alternative-purpose value of the real estate is greater than the value to us as a music venue,'' the company said in its 2006 third-quarter earnings report. When it opened in 1985, Starwood was considered a prototype. Owned by PACE Concerts, it seated about 17,000 and had a covered pavilion with reserved seating and a large grassy area for general admission.
It cost far less to build and operate than a covered sports arena. ''If they owned their own venue, they could tap into concessions, parking - things that were off-limits to them at the arenas,'' explained Ray Waddell, who covers the touring industry for Billboard magazine. ''Growing up in Nashville, I had experiences there and good times there,'' said Kells, 31.
''It's no different than it would be for a baseball park or any place where there's an emotional attachment. When things change, there's a little sadness.'' Bongiovanni said the concert industry shifted in the mid-'90s when top touring groups like the Rolling Stones began using tiered ticket pricing, allowing them to charge higher rates for better seats.
Amphitheaters, with most of their seating in open-air general admission, had a harder time competing. Weather, too, is always an issue, limiting use and stifling attendance when conditions are poor. Still, the outdoor venues remain a staple of the summer touring season.
Gwen Stefani, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, John Mayer and Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest are some of the major tours playing them this year. In many cities, they routinely sell out. The decision on where an act performs depends less on tiered ticketing than on what venues are available at the time, the demographics of the artists' fan base (younger fans are more likely to buy general-admission lawn seating) and even the configuration of the stage, said John Huie, vice president of Creative Artists Agency in Nashville.
Huie hates to see amphitheaters close. They offer a different concert experience than arenas, and some tours might bypass cities that no longer have them. He's sentimental enough about Starwood that he keeps a pair of seats from the shuttered venue in his office.
''It's a part of our culture, part of our history. I'm sad to see it go,'' Huie said.
Keywords: Salt Lake, Lake Valley, Salt Lake Valley, Usana Amphitheater
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