IRVINE ? Irvine is working to create a 10,000-guest amphitheater at Orange County Great Park to replace iconic outdoor concert venue Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, which will lose its land lease in 2017 to make way for homes.
Two studies on the viability of an amphitheater have been conducted at the direction of the park board, which includes the Irvine City Council, public records show. Now, park staff is moving the project forward.
Jimmy Buffett fans have fun tailgating before his show in 2010 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.
FILE PHOTO: THE REGISTER
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"We are developing a request for proposals (to select a private-sector partner) for an amphitheater that we expect to bring to the board for approval," park spokesman Marcus Ginnaty said via email.
The new amphitheater will be an "inspiring" and "financially sustainable 21st-century performing arts facility among the finest venues anywhere for popular entertainment, symphonic performances, dance, opera and community/educational programming," according to its working mission statement.
The venue has big shoes to fill. The 16,000-capacity Verizon Wireless, which opened in 1981 as Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, is a popular concert hall with a rich history.
Ozzy Osbourne record a concert there in 1982 that was just recently released in the U.S.
Michael Jackson performed three nights there on his 1988 Bad Tour.
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page cranked out Led Zeppelin hits there a few times in the '90s.
The amphitheater is the summertime home to Pacific Symphony Orchestra and is the annual site of KROQ's Weenie Roast and Christian music event Fish Fest, during which the venue's numerous beer taps don't flow.
It is nestled against foothills west of I-405 in Irvine, near Spectrum Center. In the early years, some folks would climb the hills behind the venue to catch a free show.
The general-admission grass lawn above the reserved seating gives 'nosebleed' ticketholders freedom to move around, dance, picnic and bundle up in blankets. The Great Park amphitheater is to also have a lawn.
In 1998, Irvine Meadows was purchased by Live Nation Entertainment, a concert giant that merged with Ticketmaster.?The venue?s name changed a few years later.?
Live Nation declined to comment for this story, but Irvine Co. spokesman Mike Lyster confirmed that the lease on Verizon will not be renewed when it expires in 2017. The developer plans to build apartments in its stead.
Verizon's longtime neighbor Wild Rivers was forced to close down last year for the same reason. The water slide amusement park was quickly dismantled and demolished.
The Irvine Co. is constructing the first 1,750 apartments of its Los Olivos Village project there, and expects the first leases to be signed early next year. It is undecided how many homes the second phase will include or when, exactly, Verizon will be demolished.
The amphitheater and water park were always meant as temporary uses, Lyster said. They originally subleased from Lion Country Safari, a drive-through wild animal park that closed in 1984.
Irvine's zoning plan designated that area for commercial recreation until the mid-2000s, when the City Council changed it to residential at landowner The Irvine Co.'s request, city spokesman Craig Reem said.
So, why a smaller venue at the Great Park? The studies showed that a 10,000-capacity amphitheater is more realistic in the modern, Internet-driven music industry in which many artists establish careers but don't build huge fan bases. The 11.5-acre Great Park venue is to have about 8,000 seats and a 2,000-person lawn.
The studies, which included tours of seven similar amphitheaters, also confirmed demand.
"The expiration of the land lease on (Verizon) will create a void in the market," park staff stated in a report.
The plan is for a private company to build, own and run the amphitheater on leased land in the park. Officials roughly estimate that it will cost $40 million to $50 million to construct, City Councilman Jeff Lalloway said.
Live Nation and Goldenvoice, promoter of Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, have been mentioned as possible partners.
Great Park officials are already working with Goldenvoice on producing an annual "signature music festival" on the park grounds. The company was chosen after a request for proposals last year.
The acoustics and stage design will be able to handle pop, rock, jazz and many other types of music, staff reports show. Dining options would be similar to that of Hollywood Bowl, which include restaurants and eateries, private box food service, a dessert shop and a market caf? with picnic offerings.
Parking is planned at 4,000 spaces on pre-existing concrete runways at the Great Park, which is on the former El Toro Marine Corps air base in the northwestern part of the city. Repurposing the runways will cost just 5 percent of what it would take to build a parking lot, officials said.
Traffic would enter and exit on the runways and on a widened Marine Way and is not expected to be a nuisance, a staff report says.
The request for proposals for the new amphitheater is still being developed and no date has been set yet to bring that to the park board.
There is no schedule established as to when the amphitheater will open, but it will most likely open after Verizon shuts down in 2017 and not before then, Lalloway said.
Wild Rivers is building a new waterpark to open in 2014 on county-owned land next to the Great Park.
Contact the writer: tmartinez@ocregister.com
Source: http://www.ocregister.com/news/park-372892-amphitheater-irvine.html
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