COLUMBIA, MD (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The owners of the Merriweather Post Pavilion have decided that the venue will remain open air.
The legendary 38-year-old venue, that has played host to everyone from Janis Joplin to Evanescence, has been swirling in uncertainty for over two years, as General Growth Properties, the development company that owns the land the theater is on, had planned to convert the shed to a smaller enclosed theater in order to build on its parking area.
“It’s excellent news; if we had a bottle of champagne, we’d be uncorking it right now,” Merriweather manager Jean Parker told the Baltimore Sun. “That makes more than my day; that makes my year.”
Dennis Miller, General Growth’s area general manager, said the company still plans to develop some of the land adjacent to Merriweather that is currently used for parking, since the company decided there would be enough parking for concert goers without the parking lot. Facility neighbors, workers and supporters were all excited that the company changed their minds about scaling down the pavilion.
“I always knew it was a great venue that bands loved to play and people loved to go see concerts at,” said Seth Hurwitz, co-owner of I.M.P., which manages the pavilion. “And I knew it was just a matter of time before everyone else figured that out.”
The pavilion opens its season with a Maroon 5 concert on April 16. Thirteen other shows have also been booked for the season, with acts including O.A.R., Velvet Revolver and Hoobastank, the Pixies and Sonic Youth, Oasis and Jet, Green Day, and Tom Petty and the Black Crowes. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
