Mayor Yemi shares letter to the community regarding Ford Amphitheater

Today, October 25, Mayor Yemi Mobolade hosted a meeting with Founder, Chairman and CEO of Venu Holding Corporation (VENU) J.W. Roth and City Council President Randy Helms to discuss the 2024 Ford Amphitheater concert season and ongoing noise mitigation efforts by VENU. In the spirit of continued transparency from both the City and VENU, the presentation is publicly available: 10-25 Presentation.pdf

In addition, the following is a letter to the community from Mayor Yemi regarding today's meeting and next steps.

This year, our community welcomed a new and innovative outdoor live music venue to the Polaris Pointe neighborhood - Ford Amphitheater. Ahead of its opening, there were three primary community concerns that the new venue, neighbors and the City were watching closely - parking, traffic and noise.

I'm pleased to report that our shared review of parking and traffic has been overwhelmingly positive. Noise, however, remains an area of concern for some in nearby neighborhoods.

Throughout the amphitheater's 2024 concert season, the City received numerous comments regarding noise. I want these community members to know that the City has been working closely with VENU and J.W. Roth, the amphitheater's owner, on this issue. I met personally with Mr. Roth over the course of this year, specifically to address noise complaints. Our most recent meeting was today, October 25.

At today's meeting, VENU presented a recap of its opening season, which by many accounts, was a resounding success. Data shows the amphitheater is having an overall positive impact economically, with more than 100,000 people attending shows and individuals coming from more than 5,000 zip codes. Local businesses, including hotels and restaurants, are also reporting increased sales related to concert activity.

Today, VENU also shared critical and specific plans to further address sound mitigation. I am pleased by their data-based approach, use of expert consultants and actionable plan.

The plan focuses on three action areas: physical, electro-acoustic and operational changes. It proposes material changes to the structure of the amphitheater that are significant in both physical size and cost to them. This includes an expansion of the solid surface wall, sound curtains and sound absorption panels. They are also continuing to model and test ideal speaker locations to address low frequency noise, and proposals are being reviewed to reduce decibel limits and earlier end times for non-weekend shows.

The presentation VENU gave today can be accessed here: 10-25 Presentation.pdf

We all acknowledge there is a lot of work needed to be done between now and the start of the 2025 concert season this May. VENU will provide a more specific timeline on these steps in the coming weeks.

Also, next week, the City will publish the results of an independent noise study commissioned by City Council President Helms and I to track amphitheater noise from the 2024 season. Further, to ensure neighbors are heard, I am personally committed to a neighborhood meeting before this year ends. More information on that opportunity is forthcoming.

We will continue to work together - the City, VENU and neighbors - to make this a successful endeavor that contributes to our City's vision to be a safe, economically prosperous, culturally rich, welcoming and vibrant world-class American city on a hill that shines brightly.

We are Colorado Springs.

Onward and upward.

Mayor Yemi

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