Is Portland trying to stretch the concert venue limit? Experts say yes

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Is the Portland area stretching too far when it comes to adding more concert venues?

Wednesday, the Portland City Council asked city staff to look at combining plans that would renovate the Keller Auditorium and build a new concert hall facility a few blocks away on the Portland State University campus.

At the same time, there are plans floated to build a new concert space at a couple other spots close in on Portland’s east side.

Now, there is a proposal to turn the former Nordstrom space at Lloyd Center into a two-story concert hall that could fit 4,000 people. Additionally, the city looking at approving a four-story Live Nation complex that could have 3,500 concert goers, including standing room, at a city-owned property on the east side along Water Avenue.

Some music business experts say Portland could use one – but not two – of these similar size facilities to fit crowds less than 19,000 at the Moda Center and more than 2,700 seated at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

But there is a growing call for Portland to start doing a lot more to promote its music scene, according to Meara McLaughlin, the executive director of Music Portland, which represents local musicians and independent venues.

“Just saying, ‘Great, we’re going to build a venue, we’re gonna build another venue,’ I think thinking strategically and holistically about what does Portland want to be from a performance perspective is a piece that’s lacking,” she said.

McLaughlin added that the greater Portland is hosting more than a thousand shows a month.

“We are really a place where you come to find the next big thing and it has major impacts on tourism, on the business sector that is trying to attract creative employees and to keep creative employees,” she said. “You don’t do that because you have single giant concerts in a giant room that you could see in any city across the country.”

It’s a warning that, while Portland is on the hunt for another large concert space for touring acts,
there are the large independent creative music acts that attract people to want to move here and work here. But only if they know more about what’s happening in the Portland area music scene.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.