There will be live music in Irvine this summer season. City leaders moved forward this week with a specific plan for a temporary amphitheater at the Great Park.
The Great Park Board on Tuesday, Jan. 9, unanimously threw its support behind a 5,000-seat venue to be set up at North Lawn, a 7-acre multipurpose recreation area at the Great Park Sports Complex, and cater to Pacific Symphony‘s summer performance calendar. The City Council, in its meeting later Tuesday, approved the plan and authorized staff to secure a stage and other necessary equipment.
The temporary venue will be set up in time for the 2024 summer season and will remain throughout the end of the 2026 season or until Irvine completes construction of its new amphitheater, which is slated to open in time for the 2027 summer concert season.
Irvine will need to invest up to $2.5 million annually for this venue. The City Council gave staff the go-ahead Tuesday to spend up to $600,000 for a stage and other initial equipment that may be more difficult to procure.
City leaders had two options to choose from: the 5,000-seat venue or one that would seat around 8,000 guests and host 35-40 shows per season featuring nationally touring artists.
The smaller amphitheater, which won out, will be set up primarily as a home for Pacific Symphony and host approximately 10-12 annual “concert in the park” style shows on weekends from May to October — likely to be held jointly with other Great Park events, such as the Irvine Nights night market, and be free of cost — on top of five Symphony shows.
When asked by Mayor Farrah Khan whether the smaller venue would still be able to attract commercial, live events, assistant city manager Pete Carmichael said it’s unlikely that nationally touring artists will book into the amphitheater.
“One way to think about this is ‘concert in the park plus,’” he said. “Probably above the level that we see at Mike Ward (Community Park) — that’s great talent —…
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