Irvine City Council and Live Nation sign agreement for concert venue in Great Park

The Municipal Council approved an agreement with the concert promoter live nation for the design, construction and operation of a permanent outdoor amphitheater in a place that Irvine leaders describe as “the heart” of their Great Park.

The site would replace the current temporary amphitheater in Five Point on the edge of the huge park that is starting to enter another phase of development.

FEATURED DESIGN

In April, city leaders partnered with live nation to choose which strip of land in the Great Park it should house a permanent concert hall.

Since the Irvine Amphitheater Meadows closed in 2016, many residents and live music enthusiasts have persistently advocated for the city to plan a new venue to replace the temporary amphitheater that has housed fans ever since, using portable bleachers and a stage and temporary restrooms.

In the past week, live nation published design renderings of the concert hall with capacity for 14,000 people which has in mind to be located on 25 acres near the current intersection of Great Park Boulevard and Skyhawk.

The agreement approved during a meeting of the Municipal Council on Tuesday night, established the terms for the construction and operation of the amphitheater. According to this, it is expected that live nation hire design consultants for the site and the city is responsible for construction. The concert promoter would purchase and install entertainment equipment and operate and maintain the facilities.

The total cost of the project could amount to $130 million, city officials said. It is expected that live nation contribute with $20 million for construction and pay $3.5 million a year to the city for the use of the place, increasing a 3% every year.

The city will also receive half a $5 surcharge per ticket to pay for maintenance, a fee that city officials estimate could generate up to $1 million per concert season.

The members of Save Live Music Irvine, dressed in white shirts with their logo, filled the seats in the City Council Chambers on Tuesday. Among them were some members of the Orange County Theatrical Stage Employees Union.

“EXTASIED” BY PROJECT

Andy Kinnon, assistant business representative for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 504, said he was “ecstatic” the project is moving forward, adding that having a permanent location will give stage workers in Orange County “peace of mind” knowing that the next seasons are guaranteed.

Still, several residents remain wary of traffic and noise concerns with a slightly larger venue in the middle of the Great Park. During Tuesday’s meeting, some complained about the booming bass of the concerts now taking place in the amphitheater Five Point that can be heard from their homes or make it difficult for young children to sleep.

Alan Myersona Woodbridge resident, said that if his windows are open during a concert, “I don’t really hear music, I hear basses, I hear bangs.”

“I can deal with it, but a lot of people can’t,” he said. Myerson recommended that the council opt for an indoor location to mitigate the sound.

He and others also questioned whether city officials were moving too quickly with the project without considering how it might affect residents of Great Park.

Camiar Ohadi, member of the neighborhood group of the Council of Residents of the Great Parksaid not enough time had been spent studying the impacts of a permanent amphitheater, including property values ​​and quality of life, such as safety.

And without a master plan for the Great Parkquestioned the wisdom behind approving projects like this.

The concilor Larry Agran, who voted against the deal, also expressed concern about “rushing” into the project “with all sorts of questions” lingering.

City officials proposed a handful of sound mitigation measures as part of an environmental review of the project, such as building the stage 20 feet below street level and building 20-foot mounds around the site. They also created a traffic plan to get cars off neighborhood streets using interior park roads.

The sound level will be capped at 50 decibels for residential areas, and if that level is exceeded, fines starting at $10,000 on the fourth offense and can be doubled for each miss mark after that, officials said.

david lingerfeltmember of Great Park Task Forcea group that advises the City Council on issues related to neighborhoods in greatpark, said in a survey conducted among the neighbors that 80% said they supported a permanent amphitheater in the park. The vast majority also said they believe development is going too slowly, Lingerfelt said.

Before the agreement with Live Nation can be finalized, the state Department of Housing and Community Development must first approve the city’s determination that the land on which the amphitheater will be located is not subject to the Excess Land Act. California, whose goal is to first offer excess city land to affordable housing developers before it is rented or sold. Irvine has to prove that the land of Great Park is exempt from the rule.

City officials said they do not believe the site is considered surplus because it will not be leased or sold to live nationand because development is legally restricted on much of the land in the Great Park under an agreement between Irvine and Heritage Fields.

HCD officials have 30 days to respond to the city saying whether or not they agree with the site being exempt.

City officials target 2025 as the completion date for the venue.

NOTE IN ENGLISH: Irvine council, Live Nation ink deal for permanent concert venue at Great Park

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Irvine City Council and Live Nation sign agreement for concert venue in Great Park