Showtime? Ford Amphitheater officials say new Colorado Springs music venue is ready for next week's debut

With less than two weeks until pop band One Republic takes the stage Aug. 9 at the 8,000-seat Ford Amphitheater that's under construction on Colorado Springs' north side, the outdoor music venue isn't quite ready for its first show.

But it will be, its developer insists.

"Oh yeah, no question about that," said JW Roth, founder and CEO of VENU, the Springs entertainment company formerly known as Notes Live that's building the facility.

In fact, not only will the amphitheater open as scheduled next month, but it will be finished in time for an Aug. 6, invitation-only event that VENU will host for about 5,500 shareholders, community leaders, project contractors and other guests, Roth said.

That private gathering — intended as a thank-you to the project's supporters — will feature the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, performers from the Springs-based School of Rock and country music artist Phil Vassar, he said.

"The 9th is one thing, but I'd better be done by the 6th," Roth said.

Some skeptics still don't believe him.

The open-air music venue, southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard and part of the Polaris Pointe mixed-use development, only broke ground a year ago, on July 12, 2023.

That launch came six months after the Colorado Springs City Council overwhelmingly approved the project over the objections of some nearby homeowners who said they feared the amphitheater will create unwanted noise and cause parking and traffic woes.

"Hahahaha. They are so behind," one commenter said on an amphitheater Facebook group a few weeks ago about the venue's progress.

Roth, however, isn't laughing; he's smiling.

The first building permit was issued Aug. 15, 2023, for work at the amphitheater, according to the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department; the Colorado Springs-El Paso County regulatory agency issues permits for construction projects and inspects the work to ensure it complies with building codes.

Since then, construction crews have worked furiously on the project, originally called the Sunset Amphitheater. It was rebranded as the Ford Amphitheater in June after about 40 Ford dealers in Colorado paid to acquire naming rights for the venue.

The price tag also has changed over time, soaring to about $90 million, Roth has said; in addition to the amphitheater, that cost now includes a restaurant, bar and event center complex slated to open next year and the acquisition of land for additional on-site parking.

Roth proposed the amphitheater as a luxury venue that would host what he's called A-1 concert acts and performers while it provides a scenic setting for local residents to enjoy shows without driving to Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green, the Denver-area outdoor music facilities. In addition to One Republic, which will perform three shows over the weekend beginning Aug. 9, about 20 more performers have been booked through mid-October, the amphitheater's website shows.

As part of the project's completion timeline, Roth said extra days were built into the construction schedule in the case of delays caused by bad weather or other problems. At different points in the construction cycle, those extra days would be depleted, but later would be re-added as work was finished, he said.

"I always looked at how many days I had banked," Roth said. "Some days I would look at it and I would see that I had four extra days banked. Some days I looked at it, and I had two in the minus column. It just kind of goes back and forth, depending on when equipment is going to arrive and when chairs are going to arrive.

"At the end of the day, once we got into sort of, the May timeframe, I knew we were going to be fine," he added. "Really, my (poor) weather was behind me."

Last week, construction crews were putting finishing touches on the venue, including the installation of permanent, lower-bowl seats in front of the facility's stage that will accommodate just over 2,000 concert-goers, according to VENU officials.

At the same time, crews also installed the general admission, lawn-seating area in the back of the amphitheater that will hold another 2,500 concert-goers.

In between those two seating areas, crews already had completed construction of 92 fire-pit suites, each with eight wicker chair seats, that will hold another 736 people. They also finished the upper bowl that will have permanent seating for 2,400.

The amphitheater also will have what VENU officials call "pit" seating — a few hundred temporary seats directly in front of the stage.

Of other key amphitheater features:

• A sound wall designed to serve as a noise barrier between the amphitheater and nearby neighborhoods has been erected on the venue's east side and behind the lawn seating area. When the City Council approved the amphitheater, it required the wall to be at least 28 feet tall; as erected, it's 28 feet at its lowest point and extends to 50 feet in the center, VENU officials say.

• A paved surface parking lot with roughly 740 spaces has been built on the amphitheater site, just east of the facility. As of Friday morning, half of the surface lot had been striped and light fixtures installed, a Gazette walk of the property showed.

• Lighting systems have been installed, though concert performers often travel with their own lighting and will work with amphitheater officials on what they need for their shows, VENU officials said.

• The amphitheater’s in-house audio-visual system also has been installed and was being fine-tuned last week; like lighting, performers typically deploy their own sound or public address systems, according to VENU officials.

• Kitchens to support food concession areas and bathrooms were due to be completed last week.

• Though complete, the amphitheater stage also was receiving final cosmetic touches last week.

• This week, entry gates are to be installed; they were one of the final pieces because heavy equipment was moving in and out of the amphitheater site.

• The Roth Seafood and Chophouse complex, which Roth has said will include a restaurant, bar and event center, is now scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2025.

As of Friday morning, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department had conducted 117 inspections of the amphitheater site, said Roger Lovell, the agency's top administrator.

Before the amphitheater opens, it must obtain a certificate of occupancy, which means all construction will have been completed and the venue will have complied with building codes as well as the requirements of the Colorado Springs Fire Department, El Paso County Public Health and other government agencies, he said.

Many projects — whether a single-family home, office building or apartment complex — routinely are issued a temporary certificate of occupancy, a sign that work to ensure public health and safety has been completed, though some non-safety or health-related items still need to be addressed, Lovell said.

"Maybe the landscaping's not done," Lovell said. "The city wants the landscaping done, but that doesn't mean you can't have people in the store type of thing."

In the case of the amphitheater, a temporary certificate of occupancy would allow the venue to open and operate, he said. The temporary order is good for 30 days and can be renewed, Lovell said.

Based on his knowledge of the project, Lovell said he expects the amphitheater to obtain its temporary certificate of occupancy and possibly even its permanent certificate by Aug. 6.

"It's very close," Lovell said of the amphitheater's completion and compliance with the agency's regulatory oversight. "It's right about where I'd expect it. I know they're pushing hard. They're in good shape; they'll make a (temporary certificate of occupancy) by Aug. 6.

"They've got a good contractor, they've got good subs, they've been on top of everything throughout the whole process," he added. "This is one of those ones that I just have confidence in. There are others that get down to the deadline and you're thinking, 'man, I don't know see how this is going to happen.' But I don't see that with this one."