New details released on planned amphitheater on the Chattanooga Westside
Image of the planned amphitheater along with the rest of The Bend. (Courtesy: Urban Story Ventures)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Last week, we learned that plans were in the works for a large amphitheater on the Chattanooga Westside at The Bend.
Tuesday, we are learning more about what that entails.
Urban Story Ventures has revealed that the proposed 12,500 seat venue is to be built by Colorado based Venu Holding Corporation.
This will be their fifth Sunset Amphitheater called “Sunset Amphitheater Chattanooga”, as the company says this will be their flagship location in the Eastern United States.
The other four are currently under construction in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, and Tulsa, as the company just opened up a new award-winning amphitheater in the company’s headquarter city of Colorado Springs.
The facility will feature a canopied roof allowing the venue to be partially enclosed and open air, and will face Lookout Mountain.
It will also feature traditional bowl and lawn seating along with premium spaces.
Urban Story Ventures CEO Jimmy White describes it as, “First class theater, the most technologically advanced on the East Coast. It’s gonna be right here in Chattanooga so it’s really exciting… Chattanooga was a strategic market because we’re regional, but they’re building a whole East Coast tour with Jacksonville, Chattanooga, and other markets all the way through the northeast.”
We have heard some ask why existing sports venues such as Finley Stadium and Erlanger Park are not being used for more concerts.
The last major concert at Finley Stadium was a performance by Kane Brown in 2022, and the new baseball park has not yet hosted a concert through its first few weeks of operation.
AT&T Field during its existence was not a draw for a concerts either, as White says the economics of musical tours dictate that venues be designed specifically for music.
He said, “It’s just not conducive for great acoustics and especially in today’s environment when you know everything is AI, you got these LED panel screens and immersive experiences, sporting events are just not built that way right now. It’s amazing the technology that will exist here at this amphitheater. Just to set up a stage at a Finley Stadium for example is $150,000 for a random show.”
The need for an amphitheater in Chattanooga has been discussed for years, as a Chattanooga Tourism Study found over three-fourths of concerts attended by Chattanoogans were in other cities.
White believes this will keep much of those dollars here, generating over four billion dollars in economic impact.
White said, “Amphitheaters are popular. We’re missing about 32 tour buses a week right now, they’re bypassing Chattanooga. Think about all of the acts we’re missing because they’re going to Atlanta, Birmingham, and all of these acts that just drive through our market and don’t stop here.”
He says the cost of the project will be $300 million dollars, most of that being funded through private investments with talks about potential incentives from the city, county, and state levels.
The Bend is already a tax increment financing district, and White says they do not plan to pursue property tax breaks in these negotiations.
He expects for groundbreaking to occur in the first quarter of 2027, with construction lasting 12-18 months, meaning concerts could begin as early as 2028.
White also said the amphitheater would be next to a marina and connected with a retail area called the Canal District, and says more announcements regarding The Bend are coming soon.
