A new waterfront Long Beach Amphitheater is set to open this summer
A waterfront open-air music venue is set to open later this year, and city leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of the Long Beach Amphitheater on Wednesday.
With the Queen Mary and ocean water in the background, the 11,000-capacity venue will host its first performance on August 14, featuring TOTO, Christopher Cross and the Romantics. Mötley Crüe is scheduled for September 19.
"This is the first step of a much larger vision to create an iconic waterfront structure on the West Coast," Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said.
"This project is part of a larger, Grow Long Beach strategy, building an economy that's modern, that reflects who we are – that's creative, that's diverse."
The $21 million amphitheater will be operated and managed by Legends / ASM Global, which operates 13 similar facilities nationwide, including the Greek Theatre.
"This amphitheater is designed to pay for itself with no operating subsidy from the city," City Manager Tom Modica said.
He explained that funds for the project came through the city's Tideland Funds. "It all gets paid back through that net operating profit."
"About three to four years ago, we took back the Queen Mary after 40 years of private operators running it with limited success. It is now in its third year of profitable operations," Modica said, noting that the amphitheater is the next step in the city's tourism and economic development strategies.
