RIVERSIDE, MO (CelebrityAccess) – Live Nation Entertainment’s (LNE) plan to build a new amphitheater in Riverside, Missouri, is now on track to becoming a reality.
On Tuesday night, city officials granted a rezoning request on 170 acres west of Northwest (NW) Horizons Parkway just east of the Quindaro Bend Levee. Additionally, the preliminary and final development plan solidifying LNE’s plan to build a new 15,000-seat amphitheater was approved.
LNE is one of the biggest live entertainment providers in the world. The company has been around for more than a decade and manages a large portfolio of entertainment venues.
The potential open-air amphitheater would occupy about 135 acres south of NW 39th Street, west of NW Horizons Parkway, north of Interstate 635 and east of the Riverside Quindaro Bend Levee. The venue of the proposed size has a strong potential to attract big music artists to the area and serve as a hub for concerts or musical theatre.
During the meeting, Brian Koral, city administrator, unveiled renderings of the prospective venue (see picture). According to renderings, the semi-circulate general seat area will be veiled with a rooftop, along with a well-lit entryway, a VIP area, a vinyl club, and speed bars. The venue will have an estimated 240 toilets.
The nearly 330-acre entertainment campus will hold a total of 31,057 people, with just over 15,000 designated for seated visitors. The venue will include a whopping seven kinds of seating and tickets, including:
Seated pit – 1,666-person capacity,
General seats – 6,076-person capacity,
Lawn seats – 4,135-person capacity,
Premium seats – 1,502-person capacity,
Premium box seats – 432-person capacity,
Premium group sales – 410-person capacity
Premium lawn seats – 786-person capacity
The facility will also provide 5,200 parking spots and 200 stalls for rideshare services.
Gretchen Blain, Senior Project Manager with Generator Studios, presented LN’s plan at Tuesday’s meeting. One alderman asked if the sound could be projected toward Kansas, but Blain said the stage needed to have its back toward the levee.
The venue’s design features a park-like setting with several large, grassy spaces and walking paths. The main performance stage, which faces away from the Quindaro Bend Levee, will be surrounded by elevated seating that fans out. With the stage backing the levee, the sound will be projected toward Interstate 635. The stage’s placement also prevents the sun from glaring into the concert-goers’ eyes.
The venue will be enclosed with a fenced boundary that stretches 538,450 square feet. Inside, concert-goers will be able to grab a bite to eat or drink at one of the many buildings at the open-air venue.
The amphitheater could be having its first performance in the late spring of 2025, according to Riverside Mayor Kathy Rose.
“They’re telling me, late spring of ’25 is the first concert, and right now, they are anticipating 37 to 40 shows a year. Destination Riverside is truly what we’re trying to achieve, and this plays right into that vision and that goal for us.”
