Outdoor events with packed crowds are nothing new in Colorado Springs.
Air Force Academy football, the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, minor league baseball with the old Colorado Springs Sky Sox and the new Rocky Mountain Vibes, Colorado Springs Switchbacks soccer and the annual July Fourth gathering at the city’s Memorial Park — though it hasn’t been held since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — are among familiar area events held in outdoor settings and attended by thousands.
Now comes the new Ford Amphitheater — an 8,000-seat outdoor venue that debuts this week with a private, invitation-only gathering Tuesday and its first public event Friday when pop band OneRepublic performs its first of three weekend shows.
The amphitheater, proposed and developed by VENU, the Colorado Springs entertainment company formerly known as Notes Live, will open at Polaris Pointe, the 200-acre mixed-use development southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard.
Though other open-air facilities in Colorado Springs have held occasional live-music performances over the years, in addition to their sports and community events, the Ford Amphitheater will be the area’s first venue dedicated to outdoor concerts.
It’s been built on Colorado Springs’ busy north side, one of the Pikes Peak region’s fastest-growing commercial and residential areas that’s bustling with hundreds of businesses and thousands of homeowners and apartment dwellers.
So, before OneRepublic takes the stage, what do concert-goers — along with nearby residents and business people — need to know?
Here’s a partial rundown on what to expect when the amphitheater opens, based on information provided by VENU representatives, the Colorado Springs Police Department and local government officials:
First, a recap.
VENU founder and CEO JW Roth proposed the amphitheater as a luxury facility set against a scenic mountain backdrop, which would host top performers and acts and allow local music lovers to avoid a time-consuming and traffic-filled drive to Red Rocks, Fiddler’s Green and other Denver-area venues for their entertainment.
The Colorado Springs City Council overwhelmingly approved the project in January 2023, despite objections of some area residents who feared it would create noise, traffic and parking problems. VENU broke ground six months after the council’s approval. A homeowners’ lawsuit that alleged the amphitheater would violate the state’s Noise Pollution Law was dismissed, but has been appealed.
Originally called the Sunset Amphitheater, VENU sold the naming rights in June to a group of about 40 Ford dealers in Colorado, and it was rebranded as the Ford Amphitheater. VENU also hired AEG Presents, the global concert promoter, to book shows and operate the amphitheater.
At Polaris Pointe, the amphitheater will join anchor Bass Pro Shops and smaller retailers; restaurants such as Roth’s Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern, Kneader’s Bakery & Café, several fast-food eateries and the new Texas de Brazil steakhouse; and other entertainment concepts that include Roth’s indoor Boot Barn Hall music and event venue, TopGolf, Overdrive Raceway, iFLY indoor skydiving, the Air City 360 Adventure Park and Magnum Shooting Center.
What are some amphitheater details?
Its 8,000 seats include lower and upper bowls with permanent seating, 92 fire-pit suites that seat eight people each and a lawn-seating area. Amenities include concession areas, while a restaurant, bar and event center complex is slated to open next year on the east edge of the amphitheater property. The project’s cost, Roth has said, has ballooned to about $90 million, which includes the event center space.
What about operating hours?
Gates will open at 6 p.m. for amphitheater concerts, which can run until 10:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturday, according to the City Council’s approval of the project.
On opening night, rock band Magic Giant will go on at 7:30 p.m. as the opening act before One Republic begins its concert shortly afterward.
How do concertgoers get to the amphitheater if they’re driving?
Polaris Pointe is on Colorado Springs’ far north side, bounded roughly by Interstate 25 on the west, North Gate Boulevard on the north, Voyager Parkway on the east and an open space area to the south. Powers Boulevard, between I-25 and Voyager, runs through the heart of Polaris Pointe; the amphitheater sits south of Powers.
The venue itself was built along Spectrum Loop, a major interior road within Polaris Pointe that rings a portion of the amphitheater property and whose north and south legs connect with Voyager Parkway.
To reach the amphitheater, concertgoers who head north or south on Voyager will need to turn west onto Spectrum Loop.
Then again, Voyager Parkway motorists won’t have a choice.
Voyager, between the north and south legs of Spectrum Loop, remains closed to traffic; construction of a bridge along Voyager and over Powers Boulevard, which began last year, isn’t targeted for completion until Oct. 31, said Tim Mitros, manager of the Copper Ridge Metro District that’s overseeing the project.
Concertgoers who drive north or south on I-25 have two options. They can exit onto Powers Boulevard, head east to Voyager and drive a special lane along that road that takes them to Spectrum Loop. Or I-25 drivers from the north or south can exit onto North Gate Boulevard, head east to Voyager and south to Spectrum Loop.
During shows, VENU officials say, Spectrum Loop will be temporarily narrowed — though not restricted — behind the amphitheater to accommodate its operation.
This sounds a little tricky; will someone be on hand for traffic control?
VENU says it has hired Colorado Springs Police Department officers to direct traffic at key intersections and along public streets in the amphitheater area. Those officers, who will work extra-duty shifts, will direct traffic before and after concerts, according to Colorado Springs police.
Where do concertgoers park after they arrive?
When the City Council approved the project, it required at least 2,000 parking spaces to be available for each concert, with a minimum of 1,400 within a one-half mile radius of the amphitheater.
The amphitheater has two paved, onsite surface parking lots, just east of the facility. The first lot, with 233 spaces, is reserved for fire-pit suite ticket holders, VIPs and accessible parking. Some suite holders resell their parking passes on the axs.com ticket-purchasing platform; prices for those parking passes will vary on the resale market.
A second, 689-space lot is reserved for concert-goers who’ve purchased preferred parking passes that go for $35 in advance and $40 on the day of a show. The lot also is free to carpool vehicles (four or more people in personal vehicles — not shuttles, buses or limos) until the lot is full.
Concert-goers can park for free on a first-come, first-serve basis along Spectrum Loop, which is a public street.
Free, remote parking also is available at the nearby Bass Pro Shops store at Polaris Pointe and at the Compassion International ministry, southeast of Voyager and Middle Creek parkways and about 1 mile south of the amphitheater.
The Bass Pro Shops lot is roughly an 8- to 10-minute walk from the amphitheater.
At the Compassion International lot, a shuttle service will take concert-goers to the amphitheater starting 60 minutes before each show and continue 60 minutes after the show ends or until the amphitheater is cleared.
The shuttles will have a capacity of 50 riders per trip; the number of shuttle vehicles that run during each show will be determined by ticket sales.
Parking attendants, who can answer questions and direct concert-goers, will be present at all lots, including the Bass Pro and Compassion remote lots, according to VENU officials. Signs also will help direct concert-goers.
Ride-sharing services also can drop off passengers just outside the amphitheater’s south gate.
Will all of those spaces be enough?
VENU officials have said more than enough parking — including the free spaces on Spectrum Loop and at the remote lots — will be available per show and there’s no reason concert-goers should park in nearby neighborhoods.
Colorado Springs police, meanwhile, suggest concert-goers pack their patience when they arrive and think twice about leaving their vehicles in parking lots of area businesses.
“Officers will do their best to direct traffic to parking areas but remember people are reminded not to park in business parking lots as their vehicles could be towed,” Caitlin Ford, a police spokeswoman, said via email. “This includes the businesses directly east of the amphitheater as well as all of the businesses to the north, except for the assigned parking at Bass Pro Shops.”
The Compassion lot, meanwhile, will allow concert-goers to “avoid the traffic hassles of trying to find parking around the event,” Ford said. “We highly encourage people to use the shuttle service as much as they can.”
Concert noise arguably has been the biggest worry of residents who live in neighborhoods north of North Gate Boulevard, south of Sybilla Lane and east of Voyager Parkway; what’s been done to alleviate their concerns?
A study by a VENU consultant in 2022 said that physical and electroacoustic mitigation measures would limit amphitheater noise to 47 decibels in neighborhoods 3,500 feet to the northeast. If so, that noise level would fall below the limit of 50 decibels in residential areas between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. that’s spelled out in Colorado Springs city codes.
Among those mitigation steps, the amphitheater’s stage was built at a low point along the western-most portion of Spectrum Loop, and seating areas to the east were constructed in a bowl-like fashion to gradually rise above the stage and help serve as a sound barrier.
A sound wall also designed to block noise was constructed behind the lawn seating area; it ranges from 28 feet — a City Council-required minimum height — and extends to 50 feet in the center, VENU officials say. That wall will be replaced by the restaurant, bar and event center complex when it opens next year; the complex also would help block noise, VENU officials have said.
A cluster of secondary speakers has been installed to serve the lawn seating area so that stage speakers won’t have to drive sound to the far reaches of the amphitheater seating area, VENU officials say.
Also, as part of a requirement when the amphitheater was approved by the City Council, VENU has installed two sound monitoring devices at Spectrum Loop and Voyager Parkway and near Bass Pro Drive and North Gate Boulevard. The devices connect to the amphitheater’s sound management system and give the venue’s management control over decibel levels and the ability to adjust them as needed, according to VENU officials.
Bob Mudd, VENU’s president and chief operating officer, said via email that company officials don’t expect noise to exceed the 47 decibel level because of the installation of the sound wall.
“However, if there were an exception, the installation of the (monitoring) devices providing real time data to management gives us operational controls consistent with what is committed in the (2022) sound study,” he said.
“We are committed to be great neighbors and have made significant improvements well beyond what was required (by the city) through the entitlement process related to parking and noise,” Mudd added. “This has come at great expense but demonstrative of our commitment to be great neighbors.”
What if nearby residents nevertheless believe amphitheater noise is too loud? What can they do?
Non-emergency complaints can be submitted to Colorado Springs officials via the city’s website at www.coloradosprings.gov/gocos. Complaints also can be submitted via the city’s GoCos! app.
Residents with noise complaints, however, are asked not to call 911, said city spokeswoman Vanessa Zink.
What happens if rain or severe weather impacts a concert?
VENU officials say they have a plan in place to address emergencies and each situation will dictate what steps are taken and how shows would be impacted.
Concertgoers would need to return to their place of purchase for refunds for postponed or canceled events, according to the Ford Amphitheater website.
The venue has partnered with global ticketing company AXS as its official ticket seller.
“If you purchased your tickets though AXS, please contact them to receive a refund or exchange for a postponed or cancelled event,” the amphitheater website advises concert-goers.
“Ford Amphitheater will always strive to ensure the safety of our guests first and provide them with the experience they came for,” company officials said via email. “Severe weather outcomes are directly related to the situation. Cancellations, postponements and rescheduled shows are possible and will be communicated with concert goers in real time.”
What about before the show; can concertgoers tailgate in the onsite parking lots ahead of time?
VENU officials said tailgating isn’t allowed in amphitheater lots. Company officials suggest there are plenty of Polaris Pointe entertainment options for concertgoers to check out before a show.
What about walking through the gates; what should concertgoers expect?
They’ll be screened via walk-thru magnetometers at the amphitheater’s north and south gates and all bags will be subject to search.
The amphitheater says it will enforce a “clear bag policy.” Bag types and sizes that will be allowed include: one clear bag no larger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches or a 1-gallon clear resealable bag; clear fanny packs no larger than 13 inches by 6 inches by 3 inches; and clutch purses (a small purse that typically fits in one hand) no larger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. Lockers will be available for purchase for items prohibited into the facility.
A list of permitted and prohibited items will be posted on the amphitheater’s website, VENU officials say.
Anything to know about the amphitheater’s lawn-seating area?
Concertgoers sitting on the lawn can bring blankets no larger than 8 feet by 8 feet, while portable soft-sided chairs with no legs or metal will be allowed. Larger lawn chairs, however, will not be permitted.
The lawn seating area, made of synthetic grass produced by Georgia-based Shawgrass, includes an evaporative cooling system that reduces surface temperature by up to 50 degrees, Mudd, VENU’s president and chief operating officer, said via email.
